Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/earliesthistoricOOnuttrich 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA    PUBLICATIONS 
AMERICAN    ARCHAEOLOGY   AND    ETHNOLOGY 

Vol.  4  No.   1 


THE    EARLIEST  HISTORICAL   RELATIONS 
BETWEEN    MEXICO  AND  JAPAN 

FROM  ORIGINAL  DOCUMENTS  PRESERVED  IN  SPAIN 
AND  JAPAN 


BT 

ZELIA  NUTTALL 


BERKELEY 

THE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

APRIL,    1906 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA    PUBLICATIONS 
DEPARTMENT    OF    ANTHROPOLOGY 

The  publications  issued  from  the  Department  of  Anthropology  of  the 
University  of  California  are  sent  in  exchange  for  the  publications  of 
anthropological  societies  and  museums,  for  journals  devoted  to  general 
anthropology  or  to  archaeology  and  ethnology,  and  for  specimens 
contributed  to  the  museum  collections  of  the  Department.  They  are 
also  for  sale  at  the  prices  stated,  which  include  postage  or  express 
charges.  They  consist  of  three  series  of  octavo  volumes,  a  series  of 
quarto  memoirs,  and  occasional  special  volumes. 

AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY  AND    ETHNOLOGY. 

Vol.  1.     No.  1.    Life  and  Culture  of  the  Hupa,  by  Pliny  Earle  Goddard. 

Pages  88,  Plates  30,  September,  1903     .        .        .  Price,     1.25 

No.  2.    Hupa  Texts,  by  Pliny  Earle  Goddard.    Pages  290,  March, 

1904.  Price,    3.00 

Vol.  2.    No.  1.    The  Exploration  of  the  Potter  Creek  Cave,  by  William  J. 

Sinclair.    Pages  27,  Plates  14,  April,  1904      .        .  Price,       .40 

No.  2.    The  Languages  of  the  Coast  of    California  South  of  San 

Francisco,  by  A.  L.  Kroeber.    Pages  72,  June,  1904.       Price,       .60 

No.  3.    Types  of  Indian  Culture  in  California,  by  A.  L.  Kroeber. 

Pages  22,  June,  1904 Price,       .25 

No.  4.    Basket  Designs  of  the  Indians  of  Northwestern  California, 

by  A.  L.  Kroeber.    Pages  60,  Plates  7,  January,  1905.    Price,       .75 

No.  5.  The  Yokuts  Language  of  South  Central  California,  by 
A.  L.  Kroeber  Cin  press). 

Vol.  3.    The  Morphology  of  the  Hupa  Language,  by  Pliny  Earle  Goddard. 

Pages  344,  June,  1905 Price,    3.50 

Vol.  4.    No.  1.    The   Earliest   Historical    Relations   between   Mexico   and 

Japan,  by  Zelia  Nuttall.    Pages  47,  April,  1906,      .  Price,       .50 

No.  2.    Contributions  to  the  Physical  Anthropology  of  Cal 
by  A.  Hrdlicka  (in  press). 

No.  3.  Shoshonean  Dialects  of  California,  Dy  A.  L.  Kroeber  (in 
press) , 

No.  4.  Indian  Myths  from  South  Central  California,  by  A.  L. 
Kroeber  (in  press). 

o.  5.    The  Geography  of  the  Pomo  Indians,  by  S.  A.  Barrett 
(in  preparation). 

Vol.  5.    No.  1.    The  Phonology  of  the  Hupa  Language:  Part  I,  The  Indi- 
vidual Sounds,  by  Pliny  Earle  Goddard  (in  press). 

No.  2.  Navaho  Myths,  Prayers  and  Songs  with  Texts  and  Trans- 
lations, by  Washington  Matthews,  edited  by  Pliny  Earle  Goddard 
(in  press). 


UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA    PUBLICATIONS 


AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  ETHNOLOGY 


VOLUME  4 
WITH  6  TABLES,   10  PLATES  AND  MAP 


FREDERIC  WARD   PUTNAM 

EDITOR 


BERKELEY 

THE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

1906-1907 


;  15 

/.  4- 


Cited  as  Univ.  Calif.  Publ.  Am.  Arch.  Ethn. 


^^0  69 


CONTENTS. 

Number  1. — The  Earliest  Historical  Eelations  between  Mexico  and  Japan, 
Zelia  Nuttall,  pages  1-48. 

Number  2. — Contributions  to  the  Physical  Anthropology  of  California,  A. 
Hrdlicka,  49-64,  tables  1-5,  plates  1-10,  map. 

Number  3. — Shoshonean  Dialects  of  California,  A.  L.  Kroeber,  pages  65- 
166. 

Number  4. — Indian   Myths   of   South   Central   California,  A.  L.   Kroeber, 
pages  167-250. 

Number  5. — The    Washo    Language    of    East    Central    California,    A.    L. 
Kroeber,  pages  251-318. 

Number  6. — The  Religion  of  the  Indians  of  California,  A.   L.  Kroeber, 
pages  319-356. 

Index. — Page  357. 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA    PUBLICATIONS 

AMERICAN   ARCHAEOLOGY  AND    ETHNOLOGY 
VOL.  4  NO.  1 


THE   EARLIEST  HISTORICAL  RELATIONS 
BETWEEN  MEXICO  AND  JAPAN 

(Fbom  Original  Documents  Pbeservxd  in  Spain  and  Japan.) 

BY 

ZELIA  NUTTALL. 


PUBLISHED  BT  THE  CBOCKER  FUND  FOR  RESEARCH  IN  MEXICO. 


It  is  strange  but  true,  that  whereas  for  many  years  past  much 
has  been  said  and  written  about  the  hypothetical  transmission 
of  Asiatic  influences  to  Mexico  and  Central  America  by  means 
of  the  ship-wrecked  crews  of  Japanese  junks,  the  precise  date 
when  official  relations  were  first  established  between  Japan  and 
Mexico  has  only  just  been  ascertained. 

It  is  Senor  C.  A.  Lera,  the  actual  Mexican  Envoy  Extraordi- 
nary and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  Japan  and  China,  who 
deserves  the  credit  of  having  instituted  researches  in  archives 
and  annals  of  Japan  and  succeeded  in  finding  therein  the  docu- 
mentary evidence  which  a  countryman  of  his,  Angel  Nunez  Or- 
tega, had  vainly  endeavored  to  find  in  the  national  archives  of 
Mexico. 

With  the  cooperation  of  Father  Steichen,  a  learned  mission- 
ary residing  in  Japan,  who  is  known  as  the  author  of  a  History 
of  Japanese  Commerce,  Senor  Lera  obtained  translations  of  im- 
portant original  documents,  and  incorporated  them  in  a  report 
to  the  Mexican  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  which  was  privately 
printed  in  Tokio  in  pamphlet  form  a  few  months  ago,  under 
the  title  of  "First  Official  Relations  Between  Japan  and  Spain 
With  Respect  to  Mexico. ' ' 
Amer.  Arch.  Eth.  4, 1. 


2  University  of  California  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth. 

On  reading  Senor  Lera's  valuable  contribution  I  found  evi- 
dences that  he  was  unacquainted  with  the  scholarly  monograph 
privately  published  in  Mexico  in  1879,  by  the  distinguished 
scholar  and  diplomat,  Senor  Ortega,  under  the  title  "Historical 
Note  on  the  Political  and  Commercial  Relations  Between  Mexico 
and  Japan  in  the  XVIIth  Century."  I  found  moreover  that 
although  Seiior  Lera  refers  to  it,  neither  of  the  above  writers 
had  ever  read  that  most  valuable  document,  the  detailed  report 
of  his  embassy  submitted  to  Viceroy  Mendoza,  by  the  first  ambas- 
sador ever  sent  from  New  Spain  to  Japan.  This  is  contained  in 
Vol.  VIII  of  that  monumental  work  published  in  Madrid :  Collec- 
tion of  unedited  documents  relating  to  the  discovery  and  conquest 
and  organization  of  ancient  Spanish  possessions  in  America  and 
Oceania. 

Finding  myself  deeply  interested  in  the  facts  preserved  in 
the  above  disconnected  monographs,  it  occurred  to  me  that  I 
could  not  send  to  the  San  Francisco  meeting  of  the  Anthropo- 
logical Association  a  more  acceptable  communication  than  a  com- 
pilation of  all  three  publications,  with  translations  of  the  original 
documents  contained  therein.  In  preparing  this  I  found  it  neces- 
sary, in  order  to  fill  certain  gaps,  to  refer  to  a  number  of  works 
on  Japan,  and  also  to  incorporate  certain  data  contained  in  a 
newspaper  article  recently  published  in  the  City  of  Mexico  by 
the  erudite  Father  V.  de  P.  Andrade.  I  venture  to  believe  that 
the  data  collectively  presented  here,  for  the  first  time  in  English, 
will  be  of  interest  and  value,  not  only  to  historians  and  ethnolo- 
gists, but  also  to  the  general  public. 

To  them  it  will  doubtless  be  a  matter  of  surprise,  as  it  was 
to  me,  to  learn  that  it  was  no  less  a  personage  than  Tokugawa 
lyeyasu,  surnamed  "The  Illustrious,"  who,  in  1598,  took  the 
first  steps  towards  establishing  official  relations  with  Mexico, 
lyeyasu  is  known  to  have  inaugurated  the  policy  of  exclusion 
and  isolation,  which  was  perfected  by  his  grandson,  lyemitsu, 
and  to  have  organized  the  form  of  government  which  secured  to 
Japan  a  peace  of  two  hundred  years. 

At  the  time,  however,  when  he  conceived  the  desire  to  enter 
into  direct  communication  with  New  Spain,  he  was  at  the  begin- 
ning of  his  remarkable  career.    Only  two  years  had  passed  since 


Vol.  4]     Nuttcdl. — Earliest  Relaticms,  Mexico  and  Japan.  3 

Taikun  Hideyoshi  had  bestowed  upon  him,  as  a  reward  for  his 
services  as  a  general,  the  eight  provinces,  which  were  designated 
* '  The  Kwanto, ' '  and  ordered  him  to  take  up  his  residence  at  the 
then  unimportant  town  of  Yedo,  the  present  Tokio.  Considering 
that  since  1542,  when  the  first  Portuguese  trading  vessels  visited 
Japan,  the  Portuguese  had  been  enjoying  the  monopoly  of  a  sys- 
tem of  trade  by  barter,  it  was  certainly  a  new  departure  for 
General  lyeyasu  to  attempt  to  establish  direct  communication 
between  his  new  domain  and  Mexico,  It  was  his  idea  that  this 
result  might  be  obtained  if  he  could  but  induce  the  merchant 
vessels  which  plied  between  the  Philippines  and  Mexico  to  touch 
at  one  of  the  ports  of  ' '  The  Kwanto. ' '  With  this  object  in  view, 
he  sought  the  advice  and  aid  of  the  learned  Franciscan  friar, 
Geronimo  de  Jesiis,  who  wrote  for  him  a  Spanish  letter  to  the 
governor  of  the  Philippines,  in  which,  as  an  opening  to  future 
negotiations,  lyeyasu  courteously  invited  the  Spanish  merchant 
vessels  to  seek  shelter  in  any  of  the  ports  situated  in  his  domain, 
if  ever  overtaken  by  the  dangerous  storms  so  prevalent  in  these 
regions.  This  letter,  which  was  written  in  the  same  year  in 
which  the  second  expedition  to  Corea  came  to  an  end  and  a 
number  of  Coreans  were  brought  from  that  country  to  Japan, 
was  not  sent  when  written,  for  the  negotiations  were  suspended 
by  the  stirring  events  which  culminated  in  the  famous  battle  of 
Sekigakara,  which,  in  1600,  established  lyeyasu 's  supremacy  in 
Japan.  It  was  not  until  1601  that  lyeyasu  found  leisure  to  re- 
vert to  his  plan,  and  sent  Shinkiro,  a  wealthy  merchant  of  the 
City  of  Sakai,  as  bearer  of  the  above  letter  and  some  costly 
presents  to  the  governor  of  the  Philippines.  The  latter,  deeply 
involved  at  that  time  in  the  war  which  Spain  was  carrying  on 
in  Cambodia  against  Siam,  responded  by  saying  that  lyeyasu 's 
proposal  pleased  him  extremely,  and  that  he  would  accept  it  as 
soon  as  he  was  free  and  able  to  do  so.  Meanwhile  he  begged  him 
to  accept  certain  gifts  in  return  for  those  which  he  had  received 
with  much  gratitude  through  the  Japanese  envoy  Shinkiro. 

In  the  month  of  May  of  the  following  year,  a  new  gover- 
nor, Don  Pedro  Bravo  de  Acuna,  was  appointed  for  the  Philip- 
pines. In  September  of  the  same  year  lyeyasu  dispatched  Shin- 
kiro again  with  another  letter,  also  written  in  Spanish  by  the 


4  University  of  California  Publications.   [Am.Aroh.Eth. 

Franciscan  friar,  Geronimo.  The  original  draft  of  this  interest- 
ing document,  which  is  preserved  in  Japan,  is  in  Japanese,  from 
which  language  it  was  translated  into  French  for  Senor  Lera,  so 
that  he,  in  turn,  could  translate  it  into  Spanish,  from  which 
language  I  have  made  the  following  literal  translation. 

I  venture  to  suggest  that  it  would  be  an  interesting  experi- 
ment for  some  scholar  to  translate  my  version  back  into  Japa- 
nese, and  to  compare  his  translation  with  the  original  document 
and  verify  the  changes  which  must  have  been  produced  by  its 
passing  through  the  crucible  of  three  European  languages. 

"Minamoto  lyeyasu  of  Japan,  to  his  Lordship  the  Gover- 
nor of  Luzon: — 

"After  a  long  voyage  your  envoy  has  arrived  at  last  with 
your  letter.  He  has  spoken  to  me  of  the  mode  of  government 
and  the  flourishing  condition  of  your  country,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  delivered  to  me  the  five  objects  which  you  have  deigned 
to  send  me  as  presents. 

"Although  I  have  never  had  the  honor  to  see  or  listen  to 
you,  your  amiable  behavior  makes  me  realize  how  all  men  are 
members  of  a  single  family;  which  reflection  has  moved  me 
deeply. 

"Nothing  would  satisfy  my  desires  so  much  as  to  see 
merchant  vessels  establishing  frequent  communication  between 
my  country  and  New  Spain.  In  formulating  this  wish,  it  was 
not  only  the  interests  of  Japan  which  moved  me,  but  also,  in 
equal  measure,  your  own  advantage.  Many  of  your  people 
have  assured  me  that  it  would  be  a  considerable  advantage  to 
them  to  be  able  to  count  upon  a  port  in  the  Kwanto  as  a 
shelter  for  their  ships  during  tempests.  They  have  also  mani- 
fested to  me  the  pleasure  with  which  they  would  see  Japanese 
vessels  making  voyages  between  the  Kwanto  and  New  Spain. 

"I  shall  await  your  answer  with  eager  anticipation. 

"If  you  render  me  this  service,  I,  in  turn,  will  severely 
prohibit  piracy  even  in  the  most  remote  islands  of  Japan,  and, 
if  you  so  desire,  I  will  condemn  all  pirates  to  death.  You,  in 
turn,  can  execute  all  Japanese  who  in  the  Philippines  violate 
your  laws.  If  any  of  the  merchants  who  with  my  authoriza- 
tion visit  your  country,  prove  to  be  rebellious  to  your  author- 
ity, I  will,  upon  being  informed  of  their  names,  prohibit  their 
embarking  again. 

"Although  unworthy  of  you,  deign  to  accept  as  a  sign  of 
friendship  the  Japanese  suit  of  armor,  which  I  send  you. 

"My  ambassador  will  tell  you  all  that  I  have  failed  to 
express  in  this  letter." 

It  is  related  that  lyeyasu 's  assurances  did  not  disarm  the 


Vol.  4]     Nuttall. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  5 

suspicions  of  the  Spaniards,  nor  convince  them  that  he  would 
or  could  keep  his  promise.  Indeed  the  Spaniards'  fear  to  send 
their  galleons  to  Japan  was  not  unfounded,  for,  but  eight  years 
previously  in  1596,  Hideyoshi,  since  sumamed  the  "Napoleon 
of  Japan,"  had  confiscated  without  provocation  the  Spanish 
vessel  named  ''San  Felipe,"  and  a  month  before  the  date  of 
lyeyasu's  above  letter  another  galleon,  the  "Espirito  Santo," 
almost  incurred  the  same  fate.  It  was  sailing  with  contrary 
winds  from  Manila  to  New  Spain,  and  touched  the  coast  of  Tosa 
in  August,  1602.  It  was  immediately  attacked  by  the  natives 
of  this  province,  and  its  captain.  Lope  de  Ulloa,  had  to  resort 
to  arms  in  order  to  defend  it  against  its  assailants.  As  soon  as 
the  news  of  this  singularly  inopportune  episode  reached  lyeyasu, 
in  October,  he  hastened  to  write  to  the  governor  of  the  Philip- 
pines, protesting  that  what  had  occurred  had  been  without  his 
knowledge  and  consent.  He  laid  stress  upon  the  amicable  rela- 
tions then  existing  between  both  countries — adding  that  they 
might  almost  be  regarded  as  an  alliance.  Refusing  to  admit 
that  his  subjects  were  in  fault,  he  adroitly  suggests  that  it  was 
probably  only  the  fear  of  a  repetition  of  the  "San  Felipe"  epi- 
sode, which  had  caused  the  Spaniards  to  take  alarm  and  precipi- 
tate their  departure  from  the  Japanese  coast.  He  adds :  ' '  Hence- 
forth, in  case  of  any  kind  of  accidents,  let  your  people  not  hesi- 
tate to  take  refuge  in  the  ports  of  my  domain,  for  I  have  sent 
to  all  quarters  severe  orders  relating  to  this  matter.  Through 
your  merchants  I  have  learned  that  the  eight  galleons  which 
leave  Luzon  every  year  for  New  Spain  desire  to  obtain  a  license 
permitting  them  to  take  refuge  in  the  ports  of  my  country.  Full 
of  compassion  for  these  foreigners  I  have  had  eight  licenses  writ- 
ten and  sealed.  These  will  preserve  them  from  the  rapacity  of 
the  people,  and  thanks  to  them  they  will  without  fear  be  able 
not  only  to  take  refuge  in  the  ports  and  islands,  but  also  to 
land  and  penetrate  into  all  villages  and  towns  throughout  Japan, 
without  incurring  the  risk  of  being  treated  as  spies,  even  should 
they  devote  themselves  to  studying  the  usages  and  customs  of  the 
land." 

While  nothing  could  exceed  the  courtesy  and  good  will  ex- 
pressed in  this  letter,  it  utterly  failed  to  reassure  the  governor 


6  University  of  Calif omia  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth. 

of  the  Philippines,  who  could  but  bear  in  mind  several  recent 
disastrous  losses  of  Spanish  galleons,  laden  with  the  much  cov- 
eted riches  from  the  Spanish  possessions  in  Asia.  But  fifteen 
years  had  elapsed  since  Francis  Drake  had  lain  in  wait  at  Cape 
St.  Lucas  for  the  galleon  expected  from  the  Philippines,  and 
after  robbing  it  of  its  treasures,  abandoned  its  crew  on  the  arid 
shores  of  the  Peninsula  of  California.  This  disaster  had  pro- 
duced a  profound  commotion  throughout  the  Spanish  colonies, 
and  brought  infinite  trouble  upon  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  who  was 
obliged  to  send  out  a  maritime  expedition  with  orders  to  pursue 
and  punish  the  English  corsairs.  The  seizure  of  another  galleon 
by  a  Japanese  potentate  had  taken  place  but  six  years  previously, 
and  now,  at  the  very  time  that  lyeyasu  was  offering  hospitality 
to  Spanish  merchantmen,  came  the  news  of  the  real  or  imaginary 
danger  incurred  by  the  vessel  which  had  taken  refuge  in  a  Japa- 
nese port.  Considering  that  besides  all  this  the  memory  of  the 
persecution  and  martyrdom  of  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  in 
1597  was  still  fresh,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  Spanish  gover- 
nor took  no  notice  of  lyeyasu 's  overtures,  and  broke  off  nego- 
tiations. 

In  the  native  history  of  Japanese  Commerce  (Nihon  Shogyo- 
shi)  and  Kottenhamp's  "History  of  the  Colonization  of  Amer- 
ica," this  rupture  and  the  subsequent  failures  to  establish  the 
desired  commercial  relations  are  attributed,  no  doubt  justly, 
chiefly  to  the  powerful  merchant  princes  of  Seville,  who  vio- 
lently opposed  any  encroachment  on  their  monopoly  of  Asiatic 
trade.  Six  years  later,  however,  in  1608,  the  situation  suddenly 
changed.  A  new  governor,  Don  Rodrigo  de  Vivero,  came  to 
the  Philippines,  where,  at  that  period,  there  existed  a  colony  of 
about  fifteen  thousand  Japanese.  The  principal  Japanese  mer- 
chants residing  in  Manila  petitioned  him  to  resume  the  inter- 
rupted negotiations,  and  an  ambassador  sent  by  lyeyasu  insisted, 
at  the  same  time,  upon  the  advantages  that  would  accrue  to  Span- 
ish interests  by  a  friendly  treaty  with  Japan. 

lyeyasu 's  ambassador,  in  this  case,  was  the  Englishman  Wil- 
liam Adams,  a  native  of  Gillingham,  Kent,  who  shares,  with  his 
companion  Timothy  Shotten,  the  distinction  of  being  the  first 
Englishmen  who  went  to  Japan.     Both  served  as  pilots  on  a 


Vol.  4]     Nuttall. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  7 

Dutch  ship,  the  "De  Liefde,"  which  had  sailed  from  Texel  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Zuyder  Zee  in  1598  with  four  other  vessels 
and  was  wrecked  at  Bunzo,  in  Japan,  on  April  19,  1600.  Adams 
ingratiated  himself  with  the  Japanese,  volunteered  to  instruct 
them  in  the  art  of  ship-building,  and  won  the  Emperor's  notice 
by  offering  to  teach  him  geography  and  geometry.  Received  at 
court,  he  rapidly  rose  in  favor.  The  title  ' '  Hatamoto, ' '  or  Noble, 
was  conferred  upon  him,  and  he  became  not  only  lyeyasu's  in- 
fluential adviser,  but  was  employed,  as  in  this  case,  as  the  empe- 
ror's envoy  in  establishing  commercial  relations  with  foreign 
countries. 

Won  over  by  William  Adams'  representations,  backed  by  the 
petition  presented  by  the  Japanese  residents  of  Manila,  Governor 
Vivero  agreed  to  renew  negotiations  at  once,  and  commissioned 
the  leaders  of  the  Japanese  colony  to  write  two  letters  for  him 
in  their  language.  These  and  some  gifts  were  entrusted  to  Wil- 
liam Adams,  who  was  likewise  placed  in  command  of  the  nert 
Spanish  vessel  which  was  sent  to  Japan.  In  the  first  letter,  ad- 
dressed to  lyeyasu,  the  interruption  of  negotiations  and  its  cause 
were  wisely  ignored,  and  great  stress  was  laid  upon  "the  amiable 
sympathy  which  from  olden  times  had  bound  one  nation  to  the 
other,"  and  assurances  were  given  that  "far  from  wishing  to 
abandon  it  or  allowing  it  to  become  lukewarm,  it  would  be  his 
aim  diligently  to  tighten  the  bonds  of  their  long  friendship." 
He  states,  immediately  afterwards,  that  a  number  of  turbulent 
characters  having  promoted  sedition  and  made  disturbance  in 
the  Japanese  colony  at  Manila,  he  had  adopted  the  course  of 
sending  them  back  to  Japan.  According  to  Father  Steichen  not 
less  than  two  hundred  Japanese  were  thus  expelled  from  Manila. 
Governor  Vivero  adds  that  their  troublesome  behavior  would 
certainly  not  prevent  him  from  receiving  any  peaceful  Japa- 
nese merchants  who  might  come  to  the  Philippines.  With  respect 
to  such  nothing  had  changed.  He  continues :  That  he  was  send- 
ing a  vessel  to  Japan,  and  had  given  orders  to  William  Adams  to 
take  shelter  by  preference  in  a  port  in  the  "Kwanto."  In  case, 
however,  that  contrary  winds  should  impede  the  vessel's  course, 
he  had  no  objection  to  any  other  port  being  entered,  now  that 
the  whole  of  Japan  was  under  lyeyasu's  Lordship.    He  did  not 


8  University  of  California  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth. 

doubt  that  his  captain  and  his  people  would  meet  with  a  good 
reception,  and  he  begged,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  Catholic 
friars  residing  in  Japan  should  be  well  treated.  In  the  second 
letter,  addressed  to  the  shogun,  Hidetada,  lyeyasu  's  son,  in  whose 
favor  the  latter  had  resigned  in  1605,  Vivero  announced  the 
sending  of  a  galleon,  and  states  that  he  would  be  obliged  if  the 
shogun  would  send  Japanese  vessels,  but  not  more  than  four  a 
year,  to  the  Philippines,  and  he  requests  i  that  he  view  with 
benevolence  the  friars  and  priests  who  were  living  in  Japan. 

By  the  time  that  these  letters  reached  their  destination,  eight 
years  had  elapsed  since  lyeyasu  had  made  his  first  attempt  to 
open  negotiations.  Vivero,  the  enterprising  and  enlightened  gov- 
ernor of  the  Philippines,  henceforth  became  his  ally,  and,  as  we 
shall  see,  conducted  the  first  Japanese  embassy  to  Mexico. 

The  credit  of  having  established  amicable  relations  should  be 
given  to  William  Adams,  whose  influence  over  lyeyasu  finally 
opened  to  the  Spaniards  the  Port  of  Uraga,  the  most  commo- 
dious and  flourishing  port  of  Japan,  situated  in  the  Province  of 
Sagami,  a  day's  journey  from  Yedo.  An  imperial  decree,  dated 
1608,  was  posted  at  the  entrance  of  this  port,  threatening  severe 
penalties  to  all  who  might  molest  the  merchantmen  from  Luzon. 

The  answers  to  Governor  Vivero 's  letters,  which  were  soon 
sent,  express  lyeyasu 's  and  his  son's  pleasure  at  the  realization 
of  their  desire. 

With  regard  to  the  Japanese  who  had  been  forcibly  expelled 
from  Manila,  lyeyasu  simply  remarks: — 

"In  your  country  the  government  and  the  people  live  in 
harmony,  the  inhabitants  treat  each  other  with  good  will  and 
courtesy,  and  extend  even  to  foreigners  the  same  general  be- 
nevolence. In  Japan  we  also  have  just  laws,  and  all  are  gov- 
erned with  equity.  Consequently  we  have  no  thieves  nor  male- 
factors. Therefore,  if  the  Japanese  who  are  in  the  Philippines 
commit  injustices,  pray  condemn  them  to  death." 

In  a  letter  dated  October  2,  1608,  Hidetada  reiterates  his 
father's  assurances  that  Spanish  vessels  might  visit  Japan  with- 
out fear,  and  expressed  the  desire  that  future  communications 
should  be  more  frequent  between  both  countries. 

Perfect  harmony  having  thus  been  established,  friendship 
increased  between  the  Japanese  and  Spaniards,  and  the  galleon 


Vol.  4]     Nuttall. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  9 

which  navigated  between  Manila  and  Acapulco  regularly  touched 
at  Uraga. 

In  the  following  year  a  change  of  governor  took  place  in  the 
Philippines,  and  Don  Juan  de  Silva,  the  new  governor,  has- 
tened to  announce  to  lyeyasu  his  arrival  in  Luzon,  and  his  inten- 
tion to  continue  to  send  vessels  to  Japan.  He  seized  this  oppor- 
tunity, however,  to  inform  the  emperor  that  a  number  of  Japa- 
nese residents  in  the  Philippines  were  fomenting  revolt  and  dis- 
turbing the  peace.  In  answer  to  the  latter  complaint,  lyeyasu 
sent  the  governor  a  copy  of  the  severe  laws  applied  to  criminals 
in  Japan,  directing  him  to  apply  these  laws  in  punishing  the 
seditious  Japanese  in  the  Philippines.  He  ends  with  the  assur- 
ance that  the  friars  in  Japan  were  being  treated  with  sympathy 
and  good  will.  Considering  that,  in  1597,  twenty-six  Christians 
and  foreign  friars,  among  them  a  native  of  Mexico,  San  Felipe 
de  Jesus,  were  crucified  at  Nagasaki,  the  imperial  assurances  that 
he  viewed  the  friars  with  benevolence  and  good  will  must  have 
been  extremely  welcome  to  Governor  Vivero. 

Three  months  subsequently,  Hidedata,  who  vied  with  his 
father  in  liberality  and  affability,  renewed  the  privilege  granted 
to  Spanish  vessels  to  enter  all  Japanese  ports  indiscriminately, 
and  sent  their  captains  copies  of  an  official  permission,  dated 
November  2,  1609,  which  reads  as  follows: — 

* '  The  vessels  sailing  from  Luzon  to  New  Spain  may  freely 
enter  all  ports  in  Japan  and  take  shelter  therein  in  stormy 
weather. ' ' 

In  this  same  year  a  strange  combination  of  circumstances 
occurred,  which  afforded  the  Japanese  rulers  an  unexpected  op- 
portunity not  only  of  demonstrating  their  good  will  towards 
the  Spaniards,  but  of  giving  a  proof  of  their  good  faith  and 
generosity.  Don  Rodrigo  de  Vivero,  the  retiring  governor  of 
the  Philippines,  sailed  from  Luzon  for  New  Spain  on  the  25th 
of  July,  in  a  vessel  named  the  ' '  San  Francisco, ' '  escorted  by  two 
galleons.  Overtaken  by  a  storm,  the  "San  Francisco"  and  one 
of  the  galleons  were  wrecked  on  the  shores  of  Japan.  As  soon 
as  the  Japanese  learned  that  the  ship-wrecked  crews  were  Span- 
iards, and  that  among  them  was  the  former  friendly  governor 
of  the  Philippines,  they  hastened  to  offer  them  shelter  and  food. 


10  University  of  Calif omia  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth. 

Vivero  dispatched  two  messengers  to  the  Japanese  court  to  in- 
form the  emperor  and  the  shogun  of  his  misfortunes.  "Where- 
upon they  not  only  invited  him  and  his  companions  to  the  cap- 
ital, but  with  spontaneous  liberality  promised  a  restitution  of 
all  the  merchandise,  etc.,  which  could  be  saved  from  both  wrecks, 
lyeyasu  generously  offered  to  part  with  one  of  the  best  vessels, 
which  had  been  constructed  for  him  by  William  Adams,  and 
likewise  to  lend  him  four  thousand  ducats,  with  which  to  man 
and  provision  the  ship,  which  was  named  * '  San  Buenaventura. ' ' 
Vivero  was  also  loaded  with  presents  for  the  King  of  Spain  and 
Viceroy  of  Mexico,  and  was  requested  to  exert  his  influence  to- 
wards the  sending  of  a  Spanish  ambassador  to  Japan. 

It  appears  that  Vivero  took  advantage  of  his  sojourn  in  Japan 
to  prejudice  the  Japanese  rulers  against  the  Portuguese,  who  had 
hitherto  enjoyed  the  sole  privilege  of  exporting  gold  from  Japan. 
He  likewise  attempted  to  have  this  privilege  transferred  to  the 
Spaniards. 

An  interesting  fact  connected  with  this  visit,  and  to  which  I 
will  revert,  is  that  lyeyasu  requested  that  as  many  as  fifty  ex- 
pert miners  be  sent  to  Japan  from  Mexico  in  order  to  teach  the 
Japanese  the  most  advantageous  methods  of  working  their  gold 
mines,  the  principal  one  of  which  was  situated  in  the  Island  of 
Sado. 

Governor  Vivero,  having  consented  to  take  with  him  to  New 
Spain  a  certain  number  of  Japanese  merchants,  so  that  they 
might  learn  the  way,  and  also  study  commercial  conditions,  stipu- 
lated that  the  price  of  the  vessel  ceded  to  him  might  be  payable 
in  Spanish  merchandise. 

On  the  first  of  August,  1610,  after  having  enjoyed  Japanese 
hospitality  for  over  a  year,  Vivero  and  his  countrymen  embarked 
for  New  Spain  with  twenty-three  Japanese  merchants,  who  were 
under  the  leadership  of  two  noblemen  named  Tanaka  Shosake 
and  Shuya  Ryusai. 

In  Mexico  City,  where  they  arrived  towards  the  end  of  the 
year,  the  Japanese  were  presented  by  Vivero  to  the  viceroy,  Don 
Luis  de  Velasco  the  Second,  who  received  them  well  and  stood 
sponsor  at  the  baptism  of  at  least  one  of  the  two  Japanese  noble- 
men, who  returned  to  Japan  bearing  the  Christian  name  Fran- 
cisco and  the  viceroy's  family  name,  Velasco. 


Vol.  4]     Nuttall. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  a/nd  Japan.  11 

The  singularly  noble  conduct  of  the  Japanese  towards  the 
ship-wrecked  sailors  at  a  time  when  all  nations  accepted  the 
principle  of  "jws  littoris"  could  but  make  a  particularly  deep 
impression  upon  the  viceroy,  who  in  the  year  1600,  for  instance, 
had  granted  a  concession  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  which  legally  authorized  them  to  appropriate  all 
ship-wrecked  goods.  Moved  by  gratitude,  or  as  Father  Caro 
prefers  to  state,  by  his  ardent  desire  for  the  aggrandizement  of 
New  Spain,  the  viceroy  determined  to  exert  a  prerogative  usually 
confined  to  sovereigns,  and  to  send  an  ambassador  to  Japan,  en- 
trusted with  a  letter  in  which  he  expressed  to  the  Japanese  rulers 
his  gratitude  and  appreciation  of  the  great  charity  and  liberality 
towards  his  ship-wrecked  countrymen. 

Mexican  historians  have  differed  as  to  the  name  of  the  am- 
bassador appointed,  but  an  original  document  preserved  in  the 
archives  of  the  Indies  proves,  beyond  a  doubt,  that  it  was  Gen- 
eral Sebastian  Viscaino,  who  in  this  document  is  twice  mentioned 
as  being  a  son  of  the  viceroy.^ 

The  memory  of  Don  Sebastian  Viscaino  is  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  California,  for,  in  1596,  he  was  commissioned  by  the 
King  of  Spain  to  make  a  voyage  of  discovery  to  California,  and, 
as  is  well  known,  sailed  from  the  Port  of  Acapulco  with  three 
vessels  and  reached  the  Port  of  La  Paz,  where  he  established 
himself,  built  a  church  and  dispatched  a  series  of  expeditions 
westward.  This  expedition  ended  somewhat  disastrously  on  ac- 
count of  the  discontent  of  the  soldiers  under  his  command,  but  in 
1602  he  was  appointed  Captain  General  of  an  expedition  sent  by 
order  of  Phillip  III  and  fitted  out  by  the  Count  of  Monterey,  vice- 
roy of  Mexico.  During  this  voyage,  which  lasted  nine  months, 
the  whole  coast  of  Southern  California  was  carefully  surveyed. 
After  reaching  Cape  Mendocino,  they  proceeded  as  far  north  as 
45  degrees  north  latitude,  but  he  was  forced  to  return  to  Aca- 
pulco on  account  of  illness  and  mortality  amongst  his  men. 

*  It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  the  contents  of  this  valuable  docu- 
ment have  not  been  discussed  by  Senor  Ortega,  Father  Andrade  or  Senor 
Lera,  who  erroneously  states  in  a  footnote  on  page  23  of  his  monograph 
that  the  texts  of  the  two  letters  from  the  Japanese  sovereigns  are  contained 
in  Vol.  VIII  of  the  collection  of  unedited  documents;  whereas  this  contains 
only  the  texts  of  Spanish  letters  addressed  by  General  Viscaino  to  the  em- 
peror and  shogun. 


12  University  of  California  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth, 

The  account  of  his  embassy  to  Japan,  evidently  written  under 
his  dictation  by  the  secretary  of  the  expedition,  is  divided  into 
twelve  chapters,  and  fills  ninety-seven  printed  pages  in  the  col- 
lection of  unedited  documents  to  which  I  have  already  referred. 
This  document,  which  is  full  of  interesting  and  valuable  informa- 
tion concerning  the  avowed  and  secret  aims  of  his  mission,  gives  a 
detailed  account  of  its  history.  It  enables  one  clearly  to  recog- 
nize moreover  the  manifold  causes  and  events  which  within  a 
few  years  wrought  so  complete  a  change  in  lyeyasu's  views,  and 
which  culminated  in  the  banishment  of  foreigners,  the  extirpa- 
tion of  Christianity,  and  the  complete  isolation  of  Japan  for 
centuries. 

On  the  22nd  of  March,  1611,  Viscaino  sailed  in  a  vessel 
named  the  "San  Francisco'-'  from  Vera  Cruz,  accompanied  by 
the  Japanese  nobleman  now  known  as  Don  Francisco  de  Velasco, 
twenty-two  Japanese  merchants,  a  commissary  and  six  friars 
of  the  Franciscan  order,  a  captain  named  Palacios  and  a  crew 
of  fifty-two. 

Before  launching  into  Viscaino 's  report,  of  which  I  shall  give 
a  literal  translation,  excepting  where  abbreviations  and  commen- 
taries are  necessary,  let  us  read  the  Japanese  records  of  the  fore- 
going events,  which  were  indirectly  communicated  by  the  well- 
known  scholar,  Mr.  Ernest  Satow,  to  Senor  Nunez  Ortega,  in 
1879.  They  demonstrate  that  in  the  17th  century,  as  now,  the 
official  records  of  Japan  were  written  with  a  brevity  and  reti- 
cence which  causes  so  many  modern  Japanese  war  dispatches  to 
read  more  like  our  weather  reports : — 

"The  Sairan  Igen  of  Aral  Haku  Seki  (B.  1657,  D.  1725) 
says:  In  the  15th  year  of  Keycho  (1600)  a  merchant  vessel 
belonging  to  New  Spain  was  driven  by  a  storm  on  the  east 
coast  of  Japan  and  considerably  damaged.  The  government 
ordered  that  it  should  be  repaired,  and  provisions  having  been 
supplied  it  was  started  to  depart.  In  the  summer  of  the  17th 
year  (1612),  an  ambassador  came  from  that  country  on  a 
complimentary  mission,  to  return  thanks.  Amongst  the  pres- 
ents was  a  self -sounding  beU  (clock),  and  our  manufacture  of 
this  article  commenced  from  this  date.'" 


^  This  clock  is  still  preserved  in  the  temple  of  Kino-San,  near  Shizouka, 
Province  of  Suraga.  An  inscription  records  its  history,  and  a  small  metal 
plate,  fastened  to  it,  records  that  it  was  made  in  Madrid. 


Vol.  4]     Nuttall. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  13 

The  same  annals  preserve  the  following  report,  made  to  their 

government  by  the  Japanese  merchants  on  their  return  from 

New  Spain: — 

' '  Some  of  our  sailing  merchants  departed  in  company  with 
this  embassy.  They  (the  merchants)  returned  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  and  stated  that  the  country  visited  was  populous 
and  productive.  They  also  reported  that  the  foreigners  had 
thanked  them,  saying:  'Our  countries  are  far  apart  and  navi- 
gation is  difficult.    Pray  do  not  come  again.'  " 

It  is,  of  course,  evident  that  this  blunt  intimation  that  their 
presence  was  not  desired  in  New  Spain  emanated  from  the  same 
monopolists  who  had  caused  the  rupture  of  negotiations  in  1602, 
and  who,  later  on,  obtained  a  royal  decree,  limiting  the  traffic 
between  Mexico  and  Japan  to  one  galleon  a  year,  and  putting  re- 
strictions upon  the  value  of  the  cargo  it  carried. 

From  Viscaino's  report  we  learn  that  the  relations  between 
the  Japanese  merchants  and  the  Spanish  crew  of  the  *  *  San  Fran- 
cisco" were  decidedly  strained.  He  relates  that,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  voyage,  the  Japanese  gave  trouble  on  account  of 
their  haughtiness  and  rudeness  to  the  sailors — especially  "con- 
cerning matters  of  the  kitchen,"  and  by  their  high-handedness. 
The  general  put  an  end  to  this  state  of  affairs  by  ordering  that 
no  Spaniard  was  to  interfere  with  a  Japanese,  nor  lay  hands 
on  him,  nor  give  occasion  for  dispute,  under  penalty  of  death. 
The  same  threat  was  made  to  the  Japanese,  and  they  were  en- 
joined to  be  civil,  and  to  come  to  him  whenever  any  difficulty 
presented  itself,  and  to  avoid  all  disputes  and  quarrels  with  the 
sailors.  Viscaino  likewise  threatened  that  if  any  Japanese  were 
insolent,  he  would  have  him  hanged  from  the  yardarm,  and 
would  report  him  to  the  Japanese  emperor,  of  whom  it  was 
known  that  he  did  not  like  his  vassals  to  be  insolent — especially 
when  they  were  being  treated  to  such  a  good  voyage.  Whereupon, 
it  is  recorded,  the  Japanese  were  so  filled  with  fear  that  they  ' '  re- 
strained their  pride  and  haughtiness,  became  more  docile  than 
lambs,"  and  gave  no  cause  for  complaint  during  the  remainder 
of  the  voyage.  Their  leader  was  the  first  to  set  an  example  of 
changed  behavior.  Viscaino  invited  him  to  his  table,  considering 
it  expedient,  as  he  says,  to  please  and  satisfy  him,  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  upon  his  report  to  the  emperor  would  depend  the 


14  University  of  California  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth. 

manner  of  reception  accorded  to  the  Spaniards  by  his  Imperial 
Majesty,  and  the  dispatch  with  which  permission  would  be  ob- 
tained to  set  out  from  said  Empire  of  Japan  for  the  discovery  of 
said  islands  of  gold  and  silver,  which  constituted  the  principal 
aim  of  this  expedition. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  the  letters  which  General 
Viscaino  sent  by  messengers  to  the  emperor  and  his  son,  on  his 
arrival  in  Japan  after  a  voyage  of  eighty  days,  he  emphasized 
how  much  respect  and  honor  had  been  accorded  to  the  Japanese 
merchants  during  the  voyage,  but  refrained  from  all  mention  of 
the  islands  of  gold  and  silver,  which  it  was  his  main  object  to 
discover. 

General  Viscaino 's  letter  to  lyeyasu  reads  as  follows : — 
"Most  Serene  Emperor  of  the  kingdoms  and  provinces  of 
Japan: — 

"Sebastian  Viscaino,  General  and  Ambassador  of  his  Maj- 
esty the  King  of  Spain,  Phillip  III,  and  also  of  the  Marquis 
of  Salinas,  Viceroy  of  New  Spain  and  the  King's  Lieutenant, 
as  well  as  the  Friar,  Peter  Baptist,  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Francis,  make  known  unto  your  Majesty  that,  to-day,  Satur- 
day, the  10th  of  June,  1611,  we  have  reached  this  Port  of 
Uraga  in  a  vessel  in  which  we  sailed  from  the  Port  of  Aca- 
pulco,  in  New  Spain,  on  the  22nd  of  March  of  this  year.  We 
have  come  to  this  kingdom  directly  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
bringing  you  the  news  that  said  Marquis  received  the  em- 
bassy and  presents  which  you  sent  through  Friar  Alonzo 
Munoz,  and  also  to  bring  to  this  realm  Josquendono  and 
your  other  vassals  who  went  last  year  with  Don  Eodrigo  de 
Vivero  to  New  Spain,  as  well  as  to  return  the  money  which 
by  your  order  was  lent  to  Don  Vivero  and  the  value  of  the 
ship  '  San  Buenaventura, '  which  said  Marquis  purchased  in  the 
name  of  my  lord  and  king.  It  was  not  considered  expedient 
to  return  here  in  said  vessel  for  reasons  of  which  Josquendono 
and  the  other  Japanese  vdll  inform  you.  They  will  tell  you  at 
the  same  time  how,  during  their  voyage  to  and  from  New 
Spain,  they  were  respected  and  honored  and  given  presents  on 
account  of  their  being  your  servants  and  vassals.  While  the 
said  Marquis  could  have  sent  them  back  by  the  Islands  of 
Luzon,  he  did  not  do  so,  considering  that  voyage  would  be 
long  and  dangerous,  not  only  on  account  of  difficult  naviga- 
tion, but  because  they,  the  money  and  the  value  of  the  ship 
which  we  are  bringing  to  your  Majesty,  in  the  name  of  my 
lord  and  king,  might  have  been  endangered  on  account  of 
the  number  of  Dutch  pirates,  whose  vessels  are  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Islands,  and  who  are  going  about  robbing  and  in  revolt 
against  my  lord  and  king." 


Vol.  4]     Nuttall.—Earliest  Relatiotis,  Mexico  and  Japan.  15 

Viscaino  closes  his  letter  by  humbly  begging  permission  to  go 
to  court  in  order  to  "kiss  the  emperor's  hands,"  and  by  an 
allusion  to  the  existing  relations  of  peace  and  good  understand- 
ing which  it  is  his  mission  to  promote. 

Notwithstanding  these  relations,  the  general  found  it  neces- 
sary, before  landing  his  Spanish  crew,  to  confer  with  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  port  and  the  commander  of  the  Japanese  fleet  of 
junks  as  to  the  best  method  of  avoiding  quarrels  and  disputes 
between  the  Spaniards  and  Japanese.  He  issued  orders  that, 
under  penalty  of  death,  no  Spaniard  was  to  draw  his  sword  or 
any  other  arm  against  the  Japanese — nor  use  violence  against 
Japanese  women,  nor  take  anything  from  any  one  against  his 
will. 

A  great  number  of  Japanese  visited  the  Spanish  vessel, 
among  them  many  noblemen.  These  were  received  with  honors 
by  Viscaino,  who  ''offered  them  chairs  and  gave  them  sweets, 
which  they  soaked  in  sherry,  which  they  liked  extremely, ' ' 

He  records  complacently  that  the  Japanese  merchants  and 
their  leader,  Josquendono,  departed  at  once  for  the  court  of  the 
emperor,  in  order  to  give  him  an  account  of  their  voyage,  in 
which  they  expressed  the  excellent  treatment  they  had  received 
from  the  Spaniards.  But  since  we  know  the  nature  of  the  official 
report  of  their  voyage,  made  by  some  of  these  same  merchants, 
who  must  also  have  harbored  resentment  at  the  threats  employed 
by  Viscaino  on  ship-board,  we  may  be  prompted  to  doubt  whether 
all  accounts  were  as  favorable  as  that  of  Josquendono,  who  had 
been  won  over  by  Viscaino.  An  insight  into  an  existing  under- 
current of  ill  will  towards  the  Spaniards  is  afforded  by  Vis- 
caino's  remark,  "that  it  was  indeed  well  that  they  had  come 
directly  to  Japan,  for  their  arrival  with  the  Japanese  merchants 
contradicted  the  rumors  which  had  been  rife,  and  which  had 
spread  the  belief  that  the  Spaniards  had  deceived  the  emperor; 
that  the  money  lent  to  Vivero  would  never  be  returned,  and 
that  the  Japanese  who  went  to  New  Spain  were  enslaved  and 
made  to  serve  the  Spaniards," 

In  a  few  days  Viscaino  received  a  gracious  communication, 
signed  by  several  court  officials,  informing  him  that  the  shogun, 
Hidedata,  had  received  his  letter  with  great  pleasure,  and  granted 


16  University  of  California  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth. 

Mm  permission  and  all  facilities  to  \dsit  him  immediately  at  his 
court.  In  the  five  junks  placed  at  his  disposal  Viscaino  at  once 
embarked  with  an  escort  of  thirty  Spaniards,  armed  with  mus- 
kets and  arquebusses,  and  with  the  friars  and  a  few  of  the  Japa- 
nese whom  he  had  brought  from  New  Spain. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  river  Yedo  he  was  met  by  the  com- 
mander of  the  junks,  who  made  great  demonstrations  of  joy 
and  offered  him  a  Japanese  collation.  The  Spaniards  responded 
by  a  salutation  of  musketry  and  arquebusses  and  by  the  beating 
of  the  drum.  On  the  main  mast  of  the  ambassador's  junk  they 
flew  the  royal  standard,  and  at  the  stern  floated  another  royal 
standard,  made  of  Castilian  silk,  along  with  an  infantry  flag  with 
its  streamers,  all  of  which,  it  is  related,  gave  great  pleasure  to 
the  Japanese  beholders  who  crowded  the  banks  of  the  river  that 
was  filled  with  innumerable  junks. 

On  landing,  the  Spaniards  were  hospitably  entertained  at  the 
house  of  the  commander,  and  were  assigned  a  fine  residence, 
whither  a  nobleman,  followed  by  a  numerous  suite,  came  with  a 
message  from  the  shogun.  The  general  went  out  to  meet  him 
at  the  door,  his  escort  being  drawn  up  in  line.  The  Japanese 
nobleman  was  most  polite,  bowing  to  the  ground,  according  to 
native  usage.  The  ambassador  followed  the  Spanish  mode,  and 
made  a  great  display  of  politeness — particularly  at  the  door, 
where  there  was  much  discussion  as  to  who  should  enter  first. 

The  nobleman  expressed  the  shogun 's  hope  that  the  Span- 
iards were  resting  and  contented  in  his  domain.  He  informed 
them  that  his  messenger  had  orders  to  provide  amply  for  the 
general  and  his  escort,  and  that  they  would  be  given  six  meals 
a  day,  for  the  expenses  of  which  he  was  sending  gold  and  silver 
instead  of  the  customary  rice,  which  was  used  in  barter.  On  the 
following  day  he  sent  two  cooks,  many  servants  and  an  abund- 
ance of  game  and  fish.  Two  kitchens  were  set  up  in  which  meals 
were  respectively  prepared  in  Spanish  and  Japanese  styles.  The 
shogun 's  messenger  returned  to  investigate  whether  all  was  being 
attended  to,  and  was  invited  to  dine  by  the  ambassador,  who 
found  that  his  guest  cared  less  for  his  meat  than  for  his  sherry, 
but  was  unwilling  or  unable  to  respond  when  his  host  drank  his 
health  for  the  second  time. 


Vol.  4]     Nuttall. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  17 

On  the  next  day,  Tuesday,  another  messenger  was  sent  by 
the  shogun,  announcing  that  on  Wednesday,  if  the  weather  were 
fine,  Viscaino  would  be  permitted  to  deliver  his  embassy.  This 
message  was  communicated  by  two  noblemen,  who  then  inquired 
whether  Viscaino  had  it  in  mind  to  adapt  himself  to  the  ancient 
court  etiquette  of  the  rulers  of  Japan,  which  required  that,  in 
the  imperial  presence,  he  would  have  to  kneel  on  both  knees  and 
remain  with  his  hands  and  head  on  the  floor  until  the  shogun 
gave  the  sign  for  him  to  rise.  The  Spanish  ambassador  promptly 
answered  that  he  did  not  intend  to  do  any  such  thing,  but  would 
adhere  to  Spanish  court  etiquette,  would  make  the  bows  and 
render  homage  to  the  emperor  in  the  same  way  as  he  would  to 
his  own  lord,  the  King  of  Spain.  He  also  announced  that  he 
would  refuse  to  lay  aside  his  sword  and  dagger,  or  remove  his 
boots,  and  that  the  chamberlain  would  have  to  assign  him  a  seat 
near  enough  to  the  shogun  to  be  able  to  hear  what  the  latter 
said.  This  answer  caused  much  consternation  and  discussion  and 
an  exchange  of  messages.  Finally  the  general  threatened  that 
if  he  were  not  allowed  to  deliver  his  embassy  according  to 
Spanish  etiquette,  he  would  return  to  New  Spain  without  deliv- 
ering the  viceroy's  letter  or  presents,  and  would  merely  report 
that  he  had  brought  back  the  Japanese  merchants,  and  returned 
the  money  lent  to  Vivero.  Upon  this  the  shogun 's  counsellors 
courteously  reminded  him  that,  when  received  at  the  Japanese 
court,  Don  Rodrigo  Vivero,  who  was  not  only  a  cavalier  and 
relative  of  the  viceroy,  but  had  also  been  governor  of  Luzon, 
had  made  no  objections,  and  had  entered  the  presence  of  the 
shogun  in  the  way  that  was  required  of  him.  Ambassador  Vis- 
caino replied  that  all  this  was  perfectly  true  in  the  case  of  Don 
Vivero,  who  personally  was  worthy  of  the  highest  consideration, 
but  the  latter  had  come  to  this  court  because  he  had  been  ship- 
wrecked and  lost,  and  because  necessity  compelled  him  to  seek 
aid  and  means  to  proceed  to  New  Spain.  He  was  then  in  such 
dire  necessity  that  he  was  not  to  blame  for  any  act  of  submission 
he  may  have  made,  since  he  came  to  implore  succor  and  nat- 
urally was  grateful  to  the  ruler  of  this  country  who  afforded 
him  aid.  It  was  in  consideration  of  all  this  that  the  viceroy 
had  dispatched  the  present  embassy  to  escort  the  Japanese  mer- 
Amer.  Abch.  Eth.  4, 2. 


18  University  of  California  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth. 

chants  home  and  to  express  the  good  will  of  their  Catholic  maj- 
esties. He  added,  what  was  not  quite  true,  that  he  had  not  come 
to  ask  for  anything,  nor  to  bring  merchandise,  nor  to  reap  gain 
or  profits,  but  solely  for  the  purpose  of  delivering  his  embassy. 
He  repeated,  however,  that  he  would  sooner  depart  without  de- 
livering it  than  allow  the  authority  of  king  and  viceroy  to  be 
lowered  one  fraction  of  its  grandeur,  for  his  king  was  the  great- 
est lord  on  earth.  Viscaino's  arrogant  utterances  naturally  gave 
offense  to  the  shogun's  messengers;  they  returned  to  the  palace 
greatly  nonplussed,  and  affairs  came  to  a  standstill. 

It  was  then  that  the  shogun  wisely  summoned  a  meeting  of 
the  presidents  of  the  councils  of  state  and  government,  and 
other  high  officials,  who,  after  lengthy  debates,  finally  formu- 
lated the  decree  that  the  Spanish  ambassador  was  to  be  per- 
mitted to  fulfill  his  "mission  according  to  his  own  usage  as  best  he 
could. ' '  It  was  moreover  decided  that  it  was  only  when  he  spoke 
in  the  name  of  his  king  that  he  was  to  be  permitted  to  occupy 
the  same  platform  as  the  shogun  who,  seated,  would  receive  the 
viceroy's  letter  and  presents.  Having  delievered  these,  the  am- 
bassador was  to  descend  a  step,  and  there  deliver  his  present  to 
the  shogun,  after  which  he  was  to  seat  himself.  The  decree 
concluded  with  the  resolution  that  as  much  honor  and  mercy  as 
possible  was  to  be  conceded  to  the  first  ambassador  from  New 
Spain.  All  difficulties  having  thus  been  overcome  by  the  good 
will  and  courtesy  of  the  Japanese,  the  audience  took  place  on  the 
following  morning. 

The  shogun  sent  four  thousand  soliders  of  his  guard  to  escort 
the  Spaniards  to  his  palace.  The  latter  formed  a  group  and  pro- 
ceeded in  solemn  procession,  headed  by  the  captain  and  pilot 
of  the  Spanish  vessel,  followed  by  members  of  its  crew,  and  a 
sergeant,  who  bore  the  banner  with  three  streamers,  each  held 
by  a  man.  The  standard  came  next,  with  its  three  streamers, 
the  ambassador  holding  it  with  his  right  hand.  Friar  Luis  So- 
telo,  the  commissary  of  the  Franciscan  order,  walked  at  one  side 
with  General  Viscaino,  and  two  Franciscan  friars  at  the  other, 
this  group  being  preceded  by  the  commander  of  the  junks  and 
another  Japanese  nobleman. 


Vol.  4]     NuttcUl. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  19 

The  rear-guard  was  formed  by  the  secretary  of  the  expedi- 
tion, a  sergeant,  and  the  general's  negro  drummer,  whose  ap- 
pearance and  drumming  made  a  great  commotion,  and  attracted  a 
numerous  crowd.  A  detachment  of  the  Japanese  guard  marched 
in  front  of  the  Spaniards  and  another  behind.  At  the  fifth  door 
of  the  palace  they  were  met  by  the  chamberlain  and  other  oflB- 
cials  and  were  led  into  a  waiting  room,  where  the  ambassador 
sat  for  a  little  while.  Thence  they  were  ushered  through  an 
inner,  richly  decorated  hall,  into  a  great  court-yard,  where  stood 
more  than  a  thousand  royal  princes  and  knights,  each  one  wear- 
ing a  helmet  on  which  his  insignia  of  rank  was  displayed.  To 
them  the  ambassador  made  the  courtesies  and  bows  which  he 
considered  they  were  entitled  to,  beginning  with  the  highest  in 
rank.  He  records  that  they  responded  by  folding  their  hands 
and  bowing  until  their  heads  touched  the  ground.  Passing  on 
to  another  square,  the  ambassador  came  into  the  presence  of  the 
shogun,  seated  in  his  royal  robes  on  cushions  and  rich  carpets. 
To  his  right,  at  a  distance,  sat  his  nine  counsellors,  and,  at  a 
lower  level,  his  steward,  chamberlain,  and  secretary.  A  sign 
was  made  to  the  ambassador  to  approach,  and  he  did  so,  all 
present  observing  him  in  profound  silence.  First  of  all  he  made 
three  bows,  which  were  not  very  deep,  and  lowered  the  staff  he 
carried  until  it  nearly  touched  the  ground.  He  then  advanced 
six  paces  to  a  lower  platform  and  made  three  bows,  which  were 
slightly  lower  than  the  preceding  ones.  The  next  three  bows  he 
made,  while  standing  on  the  lowest  platform,  were  still  more 
profound.  Then  he  placed  on  his  head  the  viceroy's  letter,  and, 
after  making  three  more  bows,  deposited  it  on  the  platform. 
During  all  this  time  the  shogun  and  his  counsellors  were  ob- 
serving the  ambassador  and  his  extraordinary  performances 
with  unconcealed  merriment,  which  the  Spanish  attributed  en- 
tirely to  the  fact  that  before  this  the  Japanese  had  never  seen  a 
full  dress  Spanish  costume.  Viscaino's  raiment  is  described  as 
being  very  fine.  His  cap  was  adorned  with  feathers  and  a  gold 
band.  His  sword  and  dagger  were  gilt,  his  boots  were  white 
with  buttons,  and  his  frill  was  of  the  finest  lace. 

Showing  evidence  of  being  pleased,  the  shogun  beckoned  to 
his  secretary,  and  gave  him  an  order  to  lead  the  ambassador  to 


20  University  of  California  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth. 

the  seat  prepared  for  him,  also  to  tell  him  that  the  shogun  was 
glad  to  have  seen  him — especially  after  all  the  hardship^  of  the 
long  sea  voyage.  The  thought  of  not  seeing  land  for  eighty-one 
days  seemed  to  the  shogun  to  be  truly  dreadful.  The  ambassa- 
dor replied,  through  the  interpreter,  that  he  kissed  his  Highness ' 
hands  for  the  great  condescension  that  he  was  showing  him,  and 
that,  as  far  as  the  hardships  were  concerned,  which  he  had 
undergone  and  was  yet  to  undergo  on  the  return  voyage,  he  had 
come  to  regard  them  as  gifts  ever  since  he  had  come  into  the 
presence  of  such  a  prince.  When  this  speech  was  translated  by 
the  secretary,  the  prince  bowed  his  head  several  times  towards 
the  ambassador  to  express  his  thanks.  Viscaino  then  arose,  and 
after  a  very  profound  obeisance  presented  the  viceroy's  gifts. 
Up  to  the  present  the  Spanish  ambassador  had  had  everything 
his  own  way,  but  now  occurred  an  episode  which  was  probably 
unexpected.  After  a  moment's  silence,  the  prince  waved  his 
hand  with  great  majesty,  and  two  chamberlains  approached  the 
ambassador  and  led  him  out  of  the  audience  chamber.  After 
a  little  while,  during  which  the  shogun  examined  the  vice-regal 
presents,  Viscaino  was  again  led  into  the  hall,  which  he  entered 
as  he  had  made  his  exit,  performing  the  same  series  of  triple 
bows.  This  time,  it  is  related,  these  bows  were  more  profound, 
a  sign  that  the  ambassador  had  been  impressed  with  great  re- 
spect for  the  shogun 's  authority.  The  latter  informed  him, 
through  his  chief  counsellors,  that  he  much  esteemed  the  gifts, 
and  that,  if  the  general  would  like  the  Spanish  soldiers  and 
servants  to  see  him,  they  would  be  permitted  to  enter  the  audi- 
ence room.  The  ambassador  then  made  another  bowing  exit, 
and  returned  with  his  men,  who  were,  as  he  takes  pains  to  record, 
"booted  and  armed."  The  shogun  examined  them  with  evident 
curiosity.  The  friars  were  then  presented,  and  offered  him  their 
gifts  themselves,  two  of  them  being  excellent  interpreters. 

Each  time  that  the  friars  addressed  a  word  to  the  ambas- 
sador, he,  although  in  the  presence  of  the  shogun,  arose  and 
made  them  an  humble  and  respectful  bow,  thus  demonstrating 
his  reverence  for  their  priesthood,  an  observance  which,  he  says, 
impressed  the  shogun  and  his  counsellors.  At  the  end  of  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  during  which  the  prince  contemplated  the 


Vol.  4]     Nuttall. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  21 

Spaniards,  he  made  a  sign  to  two  of  his  chief  counsellors,  who 
again  went  to  the  ambassador  and  led  him  out  of  the  hall.  He 
was  then  requested  to  allow  the  shogun  to  view  the  portraits  of 
the  King  and  Queen  of  Spain,  which  were  intended  for  the  em- 
peror. When  these  were  sent  for  and  brought  before  the  shogun, 
he  arose  and  dismissed  every  one  from  the  audience  room  and 
sent  a  message  to  the  ambassador,  telling  him  that  he  was  to 
return  to  his  lodgings,  and  that  the  portraits  would  be  sent  back 
to  him  later.  It  is  recorded  that  he  and  his  consort  and  the  ladies 
of  the  palace  particularly  enjoyed  seeing  the  portrait  of  the 
Spanish  queen,  on  account  of  her  beauty  and  rich  costume,  which 
to  them  seemed  very  strange. 

On  receiving  his  dismissal,  the  ambassador  set  out  as  he 
had  come,  but  received  the  injunction  that  no  volleys  of  mus- 
ketry were  to  be  fired  as  long  as  he  was  inside  the  palace  pre- 
cincts. Once  outside,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  Japanese,  the 
Spanish  soldiers  began  to  fire  loud  volleys  of  musketry,  with 
such  rapidity  that  in  an  hour  they  had  used  a  whole  barrel  of 
powder. 

The  following  days  were  spent  in  making  visits  and  presents 
to  the  court  officials,  and  on  St.  John's  day  the  ambassador  and 
his  men  went  in  state  to  mass,  at  the  Convent  of  San  Francisco, 
in  order,  as  is  stated,  to  honor  the  feast  of  the  Saint,  and  also  to 
give  an  example  to  the  Japanese  to  go  to  church  and  respect  the 
priests. 

At  mass  they  offered  a  thanksgiving  for  the  mercy  that  dur- 
ing their  stay  in  the  city  there  had  been  no  accident  or  blood- 
shed such  as  might  have  been  expected.  At  the  Elevation  of  the 
Host,  volleys  were  fired  and  the  royal  standard  and  banner 
were  lowered  to  the  base  of  the  altar.  On  their  way  to  the  con- 
vent the  Spaniards  were  met  by  Masumane,  the  mighty  Lord  of 
the  Province  of  Oxo,  who  was  awaiting  them  on  horseback,  accom- 
panied by  two  thousand  soldiers  and  many  mounted  horsemen. 
This  noble  prince,  who  was  to  become  the  friend  and  protector 
of  the  Spaniards  and  aU  Christians,  is  described  as  so  powerful 
that,  in  case  of  warfare,  he  could  command  the  services  of  eighty 
thousand  men.  As  soon  as  he  saw  the  ambassador  he  dismounted 
and  sent  him  a  message,  asking  him  as  a  favor  to  order  the 


22  University  of  Calif ornia  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth. 

Spanish  soldiers  to  discharge  their  firearms,  because  he  wanted 
to  see  and  hear  them  do  so.  Acceding  to  this  request,  they  dis- 
charged two  such  loud  voUeys  that  he  put  his  hands  to  his  ears 
in  alarm.  Frightened  by  the  noise  a  number  of  horses  threw 
their  riders,  or  rolled  on  the  ground.  Viscaino  relates  that  the 
prince  and  his  suite  were  so  amused  at  this  that  they  nearly  died 
of  laughter.  When  order  was  restored,  the  prince  approached 
the  ambassador,  and  bowing  to  the  ground,  offered  him  thanks 
and  his  services,  and  passed  on  with  such  demonstrations  of  po- 
liteness and  courtesy  that  the  Spanish  ambassador  was  led  to 
state  that  the  Japanese  nobility  excelled  in  politeness  all  of  the 
nations  of  the  world. 

The  return  journey  to  the  Port  of  Uraga  was  made  at  the 
expense  of  the  shogun  and  with  a  large  escort  of  people.  About 
a  week  later  the  embassy  set  out  for  the  court  of  the  emperor, 
lyeyasu,  at  Shizuoka,  in  the  Province  of  Suraga.  On  their  way 
the  Spaniards  met  nothing  but  hospitality,  and  on  arriving  at 
"Corunga,"  were  lodged  in  houses  adjacent  to  the  palace.  On 
the  following  day  the  emperor  sent  a  gracious  message,  express- 
ing the  hope  that  the  ambassador  was  sufficiently  rested  to  come 
to  the  palace.  If  not,  he  would  be  granted  an  audience  when- 
ever it  suited  him  best.  Viscaino,  who,  it  is  said,  was  always 
ready  to  guard  his  dignity  and  impose  his  will,  sent  answer  that 
he  was  ready  to  deliver  his  embassy,  but  that  he  first  desired  to 
know  how  the  ceremony  was  expected  to  be.  He,  for  his  part, 
refused  to  remove  his  sword,  dagger  and  boots,  nor  would  he 
kneel  upon  the  floor ;  what  is  more,  it  was  his  wish  and  intention 
to  be  accompanied  by  his  armed  men  bearing  the  insignia  of 
war,  the  standard,  banner  and  drum.  The  answer  was  that  the 
emperor  graciously  permitted  him  to  deliver  his  embassy  ac- 
cording to  his  own  usage,  but  that  on  no  account  would  he  be 
permitted  to  fire  volleys  of  musketry  in  the  imperial  court.  Pos- 
sibly as  a  means  of  giving  the  emperor  an  opportunity  of  express- 
ing his  displeasure  at  the  arrogance  of  the  Spanish  ambassador,  it 
was  decided  that  he  was  to  enter  and  leave  the  audience  chamber 
twice, — ^the  first  time  as  the  ambassador  of  the  king  and  viceroy, 
the  second  time  in  his  capacity  of  captain  general. 


Vol.  4]     NuttcUl. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  23 

On  arriving  at  the  palace,  Viscaino  was  notified  of  this  ar- 
rangement, and  when  he  made  his  first  entrance  the  emperor 
bowed  his  head  in  silent  acknowledgment  of  the  series  of  bows 
with  which  he  advanced  and  presented  the  letter  and  viceregal 
gifts.i 

When  Viscaino  entered  the  second  time,  he  was  received  on 
a  lower  platform,  and  the  emperor  with  what  is  described  as 
"greater  severity"  bowed  his  head  only  at  the  captain  general's 
entrance  and  exit,  being  apparently  absorbed  in  examining  the 
royal  portraits  just  received. 

When  the  friars  offered  their  gifts,  they  were  spoken  to  with 
great  friendliness  by  the  emperor,  who  asked  them  many  ques- 
tions. A  message  was  sent  to  the  ambassador,  who  was  waiting 
outside,  telling  him  that  the  emperor  had  been  pleased  to  see 
him,  that  he  was  to  go  back  to  his  lodgings,  and  that  the  em- 
peror would  speak  to  him  later  on — a  promise  which  was  never 
fulfilled. 

The  following  days  were  spent  in  an  interchange  of  visits 
with  court  officials.  One  of  the  ladies  of  the  imperial  palace, 
a  devout  Christian  convert  named  Julia,  went  to  visit  the  am- 
bassador and  hear  mass  at  his  residence.  Her  example  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  number  of  Christian  Japanese,  who  were  received 
with  much  affection  by  the  Franciscan  friars.  Many  other  Japa- 
nese also  came  and  expressed  their  desire  to  be  taught  the  Cath- 
olic religion  and  to  be  baptized. 

Meanwhile  General  Viscaino  was  preparing  petitions  to  the 
emperor,  which  were  worded  as  follows: — 

"Sebastian  Viscaino,  Captain  General  of  Phillip,  King  of 
Spain,  says: — 

"That  he  carries  an  order  from  his  king  and  the  viceroy 
of  New  Spain  to  make  a  survey  of  all  the  ports  of  this  king- 
dom from  Nagasaki  to  its  northernmost  limits,  providing  your 
Imperial  Majesty  grants  the  permission  to  do  so.  He  is  to 
make  charts  and  take  soundings,  so  that  if  obliged  to  take 

^  These  gifts  consisted,  in  the  first  case,  of  the  dock,  manufactured  in 
Madrid,  which  the  Japanese  described  as  a  "  self -sounding  bell,"  and 
copied  with  such  success  that  Japanese  clocks  subsequently  became  famous 
as  articles  of  commerce. 

Besides  this,  the  viceregal  gifts  consisted  of  the  royal  portraits  already 
mentioned;  of  a  water-proof  coat,  two  saddles,  a  roll  of  paper,  two  barrels 
of  Spanish  wine,  two  sets  of  the  implements  used  in  falconry,  and  a  roll  of 
ribbon  with  gold  braid,  such  as  was  used  in  Spain  to  adorn  gala  shoes. 


24  University  of  California  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth 

shelter  from  storms,  Spanish  vessels  on  their  way  from  Luzon 
to  New  Spain  may  know  which  are  the  best  ports  to  enter, 
and  may  not  be  wrecked  and  lost  as  heretofore.  Viscaino 
begs,  as  mercy,  that  a  Japanese  official  be  sent  to  accompany 
him,  and  to  obtain  ships  and  provisions  for  him  everywhere 
at  moderate  prices.  He  ends  with  the  promise  that  when  the 
survey  map  is  made,  he  will  send  one  copy  to  the  emperor  and 
another  to  his  lord  and  king." 

In  a  second  petition  Viscaino  requests  permission  to  build  a 
ship,  so  that  when  he  returns  to  New  Spain  in  the  vessel  in 
which  he  came,  he  could  fill  the  new  one  with  Japanese  products, 
which  he  wished  to  take  home  as  presents.  He  begs  that  the 
emperor  will  aid  him  by  issuing  an  order  that  wood,  carpenters, 
blacksmiths  and  other  necessary  workmen  be  supplied  to  him 
at  reasonable  rates  such  as  are  paid  by  his  Imperial  Majesty. 
He  also  asks  that  a  Japanese  official  be  placed  in  charge  of  the 
building  of  the  vessel,  and  adds  that  he  would  gratefully  receive 
this  favor  in  the  name  of  his  king,  for  whom  the  ship  was  in- 
tended, and  that  he  would  return  in  it  to  Japan  in  the  following 
year,  with  a  view  to  promoting  the  friendship  and  commercial 
treaty  already  existing. 

In  the  third  remarkable  petition  Viscaino  makes  the  false 
assertion  that  he  had  come  to  Japan  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
bringing  thither  the  Japanese  vassals  of  his  Imperial  Majesty, 
and  of  returning  the  money  lent  to  Rodrigo  de  Vivero.  He 
claims  that  he  had  no  other  interests  or  merchandise,  but  admits 
that  he  has  some  stuffs  and  cloths,  which  he  was  obliged  to  sell 
in  Japan  in  order  to  provide  food  for  his  men  and  to  build  the 
ship  mentioned  in  the  previous  petition.  He  complains  that 
when  he  attempted  to  sell  the  stuffs  in  the  Port  of  Uraga,  he 
was  prevented  from  doing  so  by  some  Japanese  courtiers,  who 
stated  that  his  Majesty  needed  said  stuffs  for  his  personal  use. 
If  this  is  the  case,  he  says,  "the  whole  ship's  cargo  and  its  men 
are  at  the  emperor's  disposal.  If  not,  then  will  his  Majesty 
please  send  an  order,  so  that  now,  and  whenever  he  may  return 
to  this  land  from  New  Spain  or  Luzon,  General  Viscaino  can 
sell  such  stuffs  free  from  duty  or  taxation. ' '  It  would  be  well, 
he  adds,  to  settle  once  and  for  all  time  what  was  to  be  done,  so 
that  one  could  know  whether  to  return  another  time  to  Japan 


Vol.  4]     Nuttall. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  25 

and  whether  peace  and  amity  are  to  continue.  Viscaino  closes 
his  note  by  stating  "that  in  New  Spain  the  Japanese  merchants 
were  allowed  to  sell  their  merchandise  without  paying  duties  or 
taxes  of  any  kind." 

The  imperial  message  brought  to  Viscaino,  after  four  days, 
stated  that  the  orders  had  been  given,  and  that  he  would  be  per- 
mitted to  build  a  ship  wherever  he  chose  to  do  so — ^that  the  mate- 
rial and  workmen  would  be  furnished  him  at  very  moderate 
prices,  and  that  the  concessions  to  survey  the  ports  and  to  sell 
stuffs  free  of  taxation  would  be  granted  him.  Not  satisfied  with 
this,  Viscaino  sent  his  expression  of  thanks,  somewhat  contradic- 
torily adding,  ''that  he  wished  to  inform  the  emperor  that  the 
principal  business  for  which  he  had  come  to  Japan  was  to  find 
out  whether  his  Majesty  intended  to  be  friends  with  the  Dutch 
and  allow  them  to  enter  his  realm.  If  so,  the  Spanish  king  would 
not  like  his  vassals  to  come  to  Japan  to  trade,  and  the  peace 
begun  could  not  be  continued,  for  many  reasons  which  he  would 
explain,  if  permitted  to  do  so,  to  his  Majesty  and  the  council." 

On  the  next  day  at  the  house  of  the  emperor's  secretary, 
the  latter  and  the  president  of  the  council  listened  attentively 
to  Viscaino 's  representations.  He  asked  them,  in  the  first  place, 
for  a  written  acknowledgment  that  he  had  faithfully  brought 
back  the  Japanese  who  had  gone  to  New  Spain,  and  that  they 
themselves  had  testified  that  they  had  been  well  treated  during 
their  voyage.  He  added  that  if  any  one  had  any  complaint  to 
make,  he  would  certainly  give  him  satisfaction.  He  also  wished 
a  written  acknowledgment  of  his  having  paid  all  that  was  lent 
to  Don  Rodrigo  de  Vivero,  and  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  at  Aca- 
pulco  of  the  Japanese  ship  in  which  Vivero  had  made  the  voy- 
age to  New  Spain.  He  here  volunteered  to  pay  any  debt  that 
might  be  found  remaining  due,  and  then  asked  for  a  return  of 
the  bonds  or  bills  which  Vivero  had  left  as  guarantees  for  the 
payment  of  the  debt.  The  Japanese  officials  told  him  that  they 
considered  his  requests  just  ones,  and  that  both  of  them  would 
immediately  report  to  the  emperor  on  the  subject.  After  hav- 
ing thus  emphasized  the  faithfulness  and  honesty  with  which 
he  had  performed  his  mission,  Viscaino  made  an  attack  upon 
the  Dutch,  which  was  to  cost  him  and  his  countrymen  dear.    He 


26  University  of  CaUfornia  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth. 

accused  certain  Dutch  traders,  who  had  made  a  mercantile  con- 
tract with  the  emperor  a  year  previous,  of  being  pirates,  who, 
after  committing  many  robberies,  had  been  pursued  and  chas- 
tised by  the  governor  of  the  Philippines.  He  affirmed  that  they 
certainly  would  not  be  able  to  fulfill  their  contract  with  the 
emperor,  and  asked  "what  friendship  could  the  latter  have  with 
people  who  were  not  only  thieves,  but  were  disobedient  and  in  re- 
volt against  their  lord,  the  King  of  Spain?"  He  requested  his 
auditors  to  reflect  upon  what  he  had  already  written  on  this  sub- 
ject to  the  emperor,  and  also  requested  an  answer  as  to  whether 
the  Japanese  intended  to  tolerate  Dutch  trade  or  not.  He  ex- 
pressed a  wish  not  to  have  to  leave  Japan  without  knowing  the  re- 
sult of  his  embassy,  so  as  to  report  it  to  the  King  of  Spain. 
Viscaino's  listeners  expressed  great  surprise  at  his  accusations 
against  the  Dutch  traders  and  withdrew.  On  the  following  day 
they  sent  a  message,  saying  that  they  had  reported  all  he  had  told 
them  to  the  emperor;  that  as  they  knew  he  intended  to  spend 
some  time  in  Japan,  an  answer  would  be  sent  him  before  his  de- 
parture for  New  Spain ;  that  he  was  to  go  in  God 's  name  to  the 
Port  of  Uraga.  On  his  return  to  that  port,  he  found  that  the 
emperor  had  cut  off  the  free  supply  of  food  and  lodgings 
which  had  heretofore  been  given  to  Viscaino.  Viscaino  interprets 
this  act  as  a  token  of  the  displeasure  the  emperor  was  said  to 
have  felt  at  the  Spanish  embassy  having  visited  the  court  of 
his  son,  the  shogun,  before  his.  He  also  accuses  the  emperor 
of  an  avarice  which  was  increasing  with  advancing  years,  and 
makes  other  derogatory  remarks  concerning  the  aged  monarch. 
A  few  days  later  the  Spaniards  entered  the  domain  of  the  sho- 
gun, who  sought  to  make  amends  for  his  father's  abrupt  action, 
and  attributed  it  to  the  influence  of  his  counsellors.  Notwith- 
standing Viscaino's  report  against  the  emperor,  he  boasts  fur- 
ther on  of  his  embassy  not  having  cost  his  king  one  hundred 
pesos,  or  dollars — a  fact,  however,  which  he  attributes  to  the 
shogun 's  generosity  and  to  his  own  practical  wisdom  and  in- 
dustry, which  enabled  him,  as  he  said,  "to  make  a  quarter  of  a 
dollar  of  his  Majesty's  treasury  appear  like  a  million." 

A  series  of  disappointments  awaited  the  Spaniards  at  Uraga. 
Their  sale  of  stuffs  did  not  yield  as  much  as  they  expected,  for 


Vol.  4]     Nuttdll. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  27 

being  unknown  to  them,  the  Japanese  did  not  appreciate  the  real 
value  of  the  finest  woolen  cloths  and  friezes,  and  would  not  buy 
them.  Then,  when  the  cost  of  building  a  vessel  was  estimated, 
it  was  found  to  exceed  by  far  the  means  at  their  command ;  so  it 
was  determined  to  repair  and  strengthen  the  vessel  they  had 
come  in,  and  to  make  the  survey  of  the  ports  in  it  alone.  It 
was  found  necessary  before  starting  to  apply  to  the  shogun 
not  only  for  credentials  to  the  lords  and  princes  who  resided 
in  the  north  of  Japan  and  were  not  on  good  terms  with  the 
emperor,  but  also  for  the  escort  of  a  high  official,  who,  in  the 
name  of  the  shogun,  was  to  oblige  people  to  furnish  the  neces- 
sary provisions  and  all  assistance  needed  in  making  the  survey. 
The  shogun,  who  was  under  the  influence  of  Friar  Luis  Sotelo, 
and  showed  a  decided  leaning  towards  Christianity,  sent  kindly 
messages  to  Viscaino,  and  expressed  the  wish  to  see  and  speak 
with  him  at  length  on  his  return  concerning  the  friendly  relations 
between  his  country  and  the  Spanish  nation.  He  also  sent  word, 
through  the  commander  of  the  junks,  that  he  had  heard  that 
Viscaino  had  given  up  building  the  vessel  for  lack  of  means, 
and  he  deplored  his  father's  parsimoniousness.  He  expressed 
the  desire  that  the  emperor's  license  to  build  the  vessel  be  trans- 
ferred to  him,  as  he  would  like  to  carry  out  the  plan  himself. 
Viscaino  states  that  he  gave  him  the  imperial  permit  on  account 
of  being  under  obligations  to  him,  and  as  it  was  important  not 
to  offend  him  on  account  of  his  friendliness  towards  Christians. 
Viscaino  caused,  however,  a  document  to  be  drawn,  in  which  he 
ventured  to  impose  the  following  conditions  upon  the  shogun : — 

"The  ship  was  not  to  carry  more  than  one  hundred  tons. 
It  was  to  be  placed  under  his  entire  command;  only  two  Japa- 
nese were  to  go  as  stewards  of  the  ship  and  of  its  cargo.  Not 
a  cent  was  to  be  spent  on  the  vessel  by  the  Spaniards,  but,  on 
arrival  at  Vera  Cruz,  if  the  viceroy  desired  to  buy  the  ship, 
it  was  to  be  given  him  at  a  moderate  price.  If  not  wanted,  it 
was  to  sail  for  Manila,  or  wherever  the  viceroy  might  com- 
mand. ' ' 

It  is  needless  to  state  that  these  conditions,  which  Viscaino 
attempted  to  impose  upon  the  Japanese  ruler  who  was  to  defray 
the  entire  expense  of  the  building,  were  never  fulfilled.  What 
happened  will  be  told  later  on.    While  at  Uraga,  Viscaino  had 


28  University  of  California  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth. 

a  memorable  interview  with  William  Adams,  the  staunch  par- 
tisan of  his  former  employers,  the  Dutch,  for  whom,  in  1611, 
he  had  obtained  permission  to  establish  a  ship-building  factory  at 
Firando.  Two  Dutchmen  had  arrived  at  Uraga  while  Viscaino 
was  there,  carrying  many  presents  for  the  emperor,  who  through 
William  Adams'  influence  received  them  very  well,  and  gave 
them  all  the  permits  and  grants  they  asked  for.  In  their  name 
Adams  went  to  see  the  Spanish  general,  and  demanded  from 
him  an  explanation  as  to  "why  he  had  told  the  emperor  that 
the  Dutch  were  a  bad  people,  who  were  disobedient  and  in  revolt 
against  their  king,  and  who  went  about  robbing  and  creating 
trouble."  Viscaino 's  characteristic  answer,  which  is  verbally 
given,  was,  "that  it  was  perfectly  true  that  he  had  said  all  that 
to  the  emperor,  and  much  more  besides,  and  that  he  had  fallen 
short  of  the  truth  in  describing  what  the  Dutch  were.  He  ended 
by  stating  that  he  was  ready  to  give  them  any  satisfaction  they 
desired."  He  adds,  "that  it  was  agreed  that  the  Dutchmen  were 
to  meet  him,  but  that  they  did  not  dare  to  do  so  and  adopted 
the  alternative  of  leaving  Uraga  at  night  without  seeing  him. ' ' 

Viscaino  little  imagined  when  he  wrote  thus  disparagingly 
of  the  Hollanders,  that  these  same  men  were  about  to  secure  a 
monopoly  of  Japanese  trade  which  was  to  last  for  as  many  cen- 
turies as  the  dynasty  of  the  Tokugawas. 

The  above  encounter,  in  which  William  Adams  called  Vis- 
caino to  account,  is  of  special  interest,  for  it  was  to  him  that 
Friar  Cavo  attributes  the  total  failure  of  Viscaino 's  embassy, 
and  the  fresh  persecution  of  the  Catholics  which  began  at  about 
this  time. 

According  to  Cavo,  the  emperor,  surprised  at  the  Spanish 
ambassador's  over-bearing  threats  and  demands,  asked  William 
Adams,  his  friend  and  adviser,  whether  such  was  the  style  of 
European  nations.  The  answer  was  an  emphatic  denial,  fol- 
lowed by  a  warning  to  the  emperor  "to  be  on  his  guard  against 
the  Spaniards,  because  it  was  their  desire  to  dominate  the  whole 
world.  For  this  purpose,  they  sent  out  as  precursors  the  Jesuits, 
who,  under  the  pretext  of  teaching  the  Christian  religion,  in- 
cited the  people  to  rise  in  rebellion  against  their  sovereigns.  By 
this  method  they  had  made  themselves  masters  of  immense  pos- 


Vol.  4]     Nuttall. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  29 

sessions  in  Asia  and  America.  It  was  because  they  knew  all  this 
that  the  Dutch  had  cast  off  the  yoke  of  their  rule,  and  that  the 
English  and  Germans  were  in  warfare  against  them."  It  was 
evidently  immediately  after  his  interview  with  Viscaino,  in  which 
Adams  had  ascertained  the  Spaniards'  antagonism  towards  the 
Dutch  and  more  basides,  that  he  returned  to  the  emperor's 
court,  and  informed  his  Majesty  that  they  knew  for  a  certainty 
that  the  principal  aim  of  the  Spanish  ambassador's  visit  was 
to  discover  certain  islands  of  gold  and  silver.  Adams  and  the 
merchants  then  took  the  liberty  of  asking  the  emperor  how  he 
could  possibly  have  given  the  Spanish  general  permission  to 
make  a  survey  of  the  entire  coast  and  of  all  the  ports  of  his 
realm.  The  Spaniards,  they  said,  were  bellicose  and  skilled  in 
the  use  of  arms,  and  might  come  with  a  great  armada  to  con- 
quer Japan.  In  England  and  Holland  no  such  permission  would 
have  been  given  to  the  Spaniards. ' ' 

The  old  emperor  evidently  resented  the  criticism  of  his  ac- 
tion— even  from  his  friends,  for  he  loftily  answered,  "that  if  the 
English  and  Dutch  would  not  grant  such  a  permission,  they  must 
indeed  be  cowardly,  since  they  admitted  fear  of  another  nation. ' ' 
He  said  that  "he  had  certainly  not  understood  that  the  Span- 
iards had  any  such  evil  intentions,  but  that  even  if  they  had, 
he  would  have  given  them  as  ample  a  permission  as  he  had  done. 
He  would  have  no  fear  even  if  the  whole  of  Spain  came  against 
him,  for  he  had  enough  men  to  defend  him,  so  that  this  matter 
did  not  cause  him  the  slightest  anxiety.  As  to  the  islands  that 
were  to  be  discovered  in  his  realm,  he  would  like  to  know  where 
they  were — what  report  had  been  made  about  them  and  what 
their  riches  were  reputed  to  be.  If  they  belonged  to  his  crown, 
he  would  know  how  to  defend  them,  and  if  not,  he  wished  the 
Spaniards  good  luck  in  discovering  them,  and  he  hoped  that  they 
would  find  them  situated  at  a  convenient  distance,  so  that  he 
could  enter  into  mercantile  relations  with  them,  this  being  what 
he  cared  for  most."  The  Dutchmen  then  told  him  that  the  ru- 
mor of  the  existence  of  these  islands  was  attributable  to  some 
Portuguese,  who,  being  lost  at  sea,  had  come  across  them.  They 
had  spent  several  days  on  them,  saw  that  they  were  inhabited, 
and  that  the  land  was  fertile  and  produced  gold  and  silver,  but 


30  University  of  California  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth. 

they  could  not  tell  in  what  latitude,  nor  at  how  many  leagues 
from  Japan  the  islands  were  situated. 

The  emperor  somewhat  sarcastically  rejoined  that  "it  would 
certainly  require  great  good  fortune  for  any  one  to  discover 
anything  so  vague." 

Although  the  Dutchmen  were  dissatisfied  at  the  way  in  which 
the  emperor  had  received  their  communications,  they  evidently 
bore  fruit.  Soon  after,  a  Portuguese  frigate  arrived,  with  Don 
Nuno  de  Sotomayor,  the  Admiral  of  the  Fleet  of  the  Indies,  as 
ambassador  to  lyeyasu  and  the  shogun.  With  the  presents  he 
offered,  he  made  a  request  that  the  Portuguese  be  allowed  to  re- 
turn to  trade  in  Japan,  stating  that  they  would  like  to  do  so 
under  certain  conditions,  the  principal  one  being  the  removal  of 
the  governor  of  Nagasaki,  against  whom  they  had  made  some 
complaint.  The  emperor  received  them  coolly  and  simply  said 
that  "if  they  desired  to  come  to  his  country,  they  might  do  so, 
but  that  it  was  not  for  them  to  ask  him  to  reform  things  therein, 
and  that  he  did  not  wish  to  grant  their  request."  The  Portu- 
guese left  without  obtaining  more  than  this  rebuff,  and  "with 
evil  disposition  towards  the  Japanese. ' ' 

Doubtless  the  enemies  of  the  Spaniards  likewise  brought  to 
lyeyasu 's  notice  a  disagreeable  little  episode  which  occurred  at 
about  that  time,  and  cited  it  as  an  example  of  Spanish  commer- 
cial dishonesty.  It  seems  that  no  less  a  personage  than  a  son 
of  the  commander  of  the  junks  had  entrusted  a  member  of 
Don  Kodrigo  Vivero's  suite  with  a  quantity  of  valuable  mer- 
chandise, which  was  taken  to  Mexico  and  sold  there.  From  the 
proceeds  the  Spaniards  were  to  buy  certain  woolen  stuffs  and 
fine  cloths  for  the  Japanese  nobleman's  household.  The  latter 
learned,  on  Viscaino  's  arrival,  that  the  Japanese  goods  had  been 
sold  in  Mexico,  and  also  that  Vivero's  follower  had  sent  him 
nothing  in  return.  It  seems  that  it  was  with  difficulty  that  the 
ambassador  pacified  the  incensed  creditor,  and  tried  to  exon- 
erate Vivero  from  all  blame,  stating  that  he  doubtless  knew 
nothing  about  his  follower's  affairs.  In  order  to  hush  the  matter 
up,  however,  Viscaino  and  the  Franciscan  friars  jointly  compen- 
sated the  Japanese  lord  with  woolen  stuffs  of  the  value  of  seven 
hundred  dollars.    Commenting  on  this,  Viscaino  expresses  him- 


Vol.  4]     Nuttall. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  a/nd  Japan.  31 

self  as  follows,  unconsciously  rendering  a  tribute  to  Japanese 
commercial  honesty,  at  that  period : — 

"This  transaction  was  wrong  and  deserving  of  punish- 
ment— especially  with  people  Uke  these,  who  are  so  punctual 
and  exact,  and  are  unacquainted  with  such  dealings." 

Unfortunately,  about  this  period,  a  high  official  in  the  house 
of  the  aged  emperor  was  found  guilty  of  an  unprecedented  act 
of  deceitfulness  and  treachery,  and,  on  being  tortured,  confessed 
that  not  only  he  but  his  wife  and  other  fellow  servants  had  been 
converted  to  Christianity  by  the  Spanish  friars.  All  were  ar- 
rested and  threatened  with  punishment  and  the  confiscation  of 
their  property  if  they  did  not  abjure  their  new  faith.  Many 
remained  firm  and  incurred  disgrace  and  loss  of  property, 
among  them  the  lady  Julia,  who  was  expelled  from  the  palace 
with  shorn  head  and  exiled  to  an  island. 

Shortly  afterwards,  under  pretext  of  having  to  extend  the 
boundaries  of  the  town,  the  Franciscan  monastery  at  Yedo  was 
destroyed,  and  throughout  the  country  the  Christian  churches 
and  monasteries  were  ra^ed  to  the  ground.  An  ill-timed  speech 
delivered  by  Viscaino  during  his  visit  to  a  Japanese  lord  was 
also  doubtless  reported  to  the  emperor,  and  must  have  preju- 
diced him  still  more  against  the  Spanish  influence.  Viscaino  had 
assured  his  Japanese  host  "that  the  latter  could  not  give  greater 
satisfaction  to  the  King  of  Spain  than  by  allowing  the  friars  to 
enter  his  domain  and  preach  to  his  vassals — thus  establishing  per- 
manent peace.  For  the  King  of  Spain, ' '  he  said,  * '  did  not  care 
about  trade  with  Japan,  nor  any  temporal  interests,  for  God  had 
given  him  many  kingdoms  and  dominions.  The  only  inducement 
that  his  Christian  Majesty  had  (to  enter  into  relations  with 
Japan)  was  a  pious  desire  that  all  nations  should  be  taught  the 
holy  Catholic  faith,  and  thus  be  saved." 

While  the  emperor,  under  the  influence  of  his  English  and 
Dutch  protestant  advisers,  daily  took  more  active  measures  to 
expel  the  Roman  Catholicism  introduced  by  the  Spaniards  and 
Portuguese,  Viscaino  was  sailing  northward,  surveying  ports 
and  thickly  populated  islands,  and  bestowing  upon  them  the 
names  of  his  patron  saints!  He  little  thought,  as  he  took  his 
soundings,  and,  in  the  absence  of  a  Spanish  cosmographer,  super- 


32  University  of  California  Publications.   [Am.Akch.Eth. 

intended  the  drawing  of  his  charts  by  a  Japanese  artist,  that  he 
had  become  the  unconscious  educator  of  the  Japanese,  and  that 
they,  and  never  the  Spaniards,  were  to  make  sole  use  of  the  re- 
sults of  his  trained  skill. 

His  charts,  of  which  he  duly  sent  the  promised  copies  to  the 
emperor  and  shogun,  were  examined  with  great  interest  by  more 
than  one  Japanese  nobleman.  One  lord,  the  coast  of  whose 
domain  he  had  surveyed,  sent  him  presents  and  a  message,  say- 
ing "that  he  m,uch  esteemed  the  trouble  Viscaino  was  taking  in 
discovering  towns  of  his  dominion,  that  he  was  delighted  to  hear 
that  there  were  good  ports  in  his  land,  and  that  he  would  much 
like  to  see  the  map  of  demarcation  and  the  paintings  which  had 
been  made. '  * 

Everywhere  Viscaino  and  his  companions  were  well  receiver! 
and  generously  entertained.  Friar  Luis  Sotelo  accompanied  him 
for  part  of  the  time,  and  was  with  him  when  he  visited  Masu- 
mane,  the  powerful  Lord  of  Oxo,  who  had  displayed  such  in- 
terest in  Spanish  musketry  at  Yedo.  This  prince  welcomed  the 
Spanish  general,  and  particularly  Friar  Sotelo,  with  utmost 
affection,  respect  and  reverence,  and  insisted  upon  serving  food 
and  drink  to  them  with  his  own  hands.  As  a  pledge  of  a  friend- 
ship which  he  faithfully  kept,  he  changed  his  sword  for  Vis- 
caino's  dagger,  and,  on  receiving  this,  kissed  its  crossed  handle, 
and  placed  it  on  his  head.  He  displayed  his  socialistic  tendencies 
and  esteem  for  Christians  by  bestowing  a  title  on  one  of  his 
own  servants,  who  was  a  convert,  and  by  inviting  him  to  dine 
with  him  and  his  Spanish  Christian  friends.  Thereupon,  nat- 
urally enough,  many  other  members  of  Prince  Masumane's 
household  crowded  around  the  friar,  kissed  the  hem  of  his  robe, 
and  announced  their  intention  to  frequent  the  Franciscan  mon- 
astery and  study  the  Christian  religion.  Masumane  from  the 
first  exhibited  the  greatest  interest  and  inclination  towards  the 
Catholic  faith,  proved  himself  a  true  friend  and  protector  of 
the  Christians,  and  ultimately  became  a  convert  with  all  of  his 
family,  and  a  large  number  of  his  vassals. 

At  the  beginning  of  December,  General  Viscaino  had  reached 
40  degrees  north  latitude.  On  interrogating  the  natives  he  found 
that  they  knew  the  use  of  the  compass,  and  was  told  that  there 


Vol.  4]     Nuttall. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  33 

was  a  distance  of  about  sixty  leagues  from  the  extremity  of  Japan 
to  Corea,  and  that  before  reaching  Tartary,  in  the  channel  lay  a 
great  island  called  Yeso,  which  was  inhabited  by  people  like 
savages  who  were  so  covered  by  hair  that  only  their  eyes  were 
visible,  and  who  habitually  visited  Japan  in  the  months  of  July 
and  August  for  trading  purposes.  Intense  cold  set  in,  and  as 
Viscaino  concluded  that  ports  situated  on  the  northwestern  and 
southeastern  shores  of  Japan  would  be  of  little  use  to  vessels 
trading  from  the  Philippines,  he  decided  to  return  to  Uraga, 
where  he  arrived  on  the  4th  of  January  and  met  the  members  of 
his  crew  who  had  remained  behind.  He  lingered  at  Uraga  until 
the  end  of  May  selling  his  woolen  stuffs  at  Yedo,  ''with  difficulty 
and  poor  profits, ' '  and  then  started  on  a  survey  of  the  coast  lying 
between  Uraga  and  Nagasaki. 

He  first  went  to  Ito,  however,  where,  as  agreed  upon,  the  ship 
was  being  built  by  Japanese  workmen  under  the  patronage  of 
the  shogun.  He  found  that  beyond  the  preparing  of  the  timber 
nothing  had  been  done  to  advance  its  construction,  and  was 
struck  by  the  lukewarmness  and  slowness  with  which  the  work 
was  progressing.  The  general  gave  instructions  to  the  ship- 
builders by  word  and  by  letter,  and  then  proceeded  on  his  jour- 
ney. On  returning  to  Miaco  on  July  2,  he  had  four  copies 
made  of  his  survey  charts,  or  as  he  calls  them  his  '  *  Discovery  of 
Japanese  Ports,"  these  being  intended  for  lyeyasu,  the  shogun, 
the  King  of  Spain  and  himself.  From  Corunga,  a  week  later, 
he  sent  a  message  to  the  emperor,  asking  permission  to  start  on 
his  homeward  voyage.  It  is  evident  that  the  emperor  under- 
stood that  Viscaino  intended  to  sail  directly  to  New  Spain,  for 
he  sent  word  that  Viscaino  was  to  go  on  to  Uraga,  whither  his 
answer  would  reach  him,  and  there  the  emperor  sent  him  a  gift 
and  a  letter  for  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico.  The  fact  of  his  not  send- 
ing any  letter  or  gift  to  the  King  of  Spain  by  Viscaino  proved 
that  he,  probably  enlightened  by  William  Adams,  had  not  taken 
very  seriously  Viscaino 's  pretence  to  be  the  ambassador  of  the 
king  as  well  as  of  the  viceroy.  Viscaino,  who  had  been  in- 
formed that  the  emperor  was  so  incensed  at  the  Christians,  on 
account  of  the  treachery  in  his  household,  that  no  Christian 
dared  approach  him,  complains  that  the  emperor's  answer  to 
Amer.  Arch.  Eth.  4, 3. 


34  University  of  California  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth. 

the  viceroy  was  very  different  from  what  had  been  promised, 
since  in  it  his  Majesty  wrote  ''that  he  did  not  like"  the  Christian 
religion. 

The  complete  text  of  this  remarkable  letter  has  just  been 
published  by  Senor  Lera,  who  wrongly  states,  however,  on  page 
23,  that  Spanish  translations  of  both  letters  are  contained  on 
page  185,  Vol.  VIII,  of  the  "Documentos  Ineditos,"  and  on 
page  22,  that  the  first  galleon  which  sailed  from  Uraga  for  Aca- 
pulco  carried  six  letters  to  the  viceroy. 

In  lyeyasu  's  letter,  dated  July  18,  1612,  which  closes  the  offi- 
cial correspondence  between  him  and  the  viceroy  of  New  Spain, 
he  courteously  thanks  the  viceroy  for  his  presents  and  letter, 
and  "expresses  the  hope  that  Heaven  will  permit  that  their 
mutual  relations  will  be  as  close  as  those  which  result  from  fa- 
miliar intercourse  between  neighboring  countries, ' '  He  remarks 
"that  the  interchange  of  merchandise  could  but  be  of  mutual 
advantage";  and  then  expounds  the  elements  of  the  Japanese 
religion,  explaining  that  "in  Japan,  in  making  solemn  com- 
pacts or  agreements,  it  was  customary  to  appeal  to  the  gods  to 
act  as  witnesses  of  their  sincerity.  These  gods  infallibly  reward 
those  who  are  faithful  to  their  promises,  and  punish  those  who 
violate  them."  lyeyasu  next  asks,  "whether  the  path  of  all 
virtue  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  practice  of  the  five  virtues :  Hu- 
manity, Justice,  Courtesy,  Prudence,  and  Fidelity?" 

He  then  makes  a  statement  which  reveals  too  well  what  un- 
fortunate experiences  he  had  had  in  his  dealings  with  the  very 
people  whose  intercourse  he  had  cordially  desired  for  many 
years,  and  what  erroneous  ideas  concerning  the  Christian  re- 
ligion had  reached  him  in  his  seclusion  within  his  palace  walls, 
for  he  says : — 

"The  doctrine  followed  in  your  country  differs  entirely 
from  ours,  therefore,  I  am  persuaded  it  would  not  suit  us. ' ' 

"In  the  Buddhist  writings  it  says  that  it  is  difficult  to  con- 
vert those  who  are  not  disposed  towards  being  converted.  It  is 
best,  therefore,  to  put  an  end  to  the  preaching  of  your  doctrine 
on  our  soil. 

"On  the  other  hand,  you  can  multiply  the  voyages  of  mer- 
chant ships,  and  thus  promote  mutual  interests  and  relations. 


Vol.  4]     NuttaH. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  35 

Your  ships  can  enter  Japanese  ports  without  exception.  I  have 
given  strict  orders  to  this  effect."  The  presents  sent  with  this 
letter  are  said  to  have  been  *  *  five  pairs  of  gilt  screens  and  a  map 
of  Japan." 

The  shogun's  letter  was  brief  and  reserved,  but  entirely 
friendly.  He  gives  thanks  for  the  viceroy's  letter  and  presents, 
states  "that  intercourse  and  inclination,  mocking  at  distance, 
have  brought  them  together  as  neighbors,"  and  adds  "that  he 
would  await  with  impatience  the  merchant  vessel,  which,  once  a 
year,  was  to  bring  him  news  of  the  viceroy  and  his  nation. ' ' 

In  conclusion  he  mentions  three  breast-plates  and  other  pieces 
of  Japanese  armor,  which  he  begs  the  viceroy  "to  accept  as  a 
proof  of  his  devotion." 

At  the  time  this  letter  was  written,  the  shogun,  who  did  not 
share  his  father's  views,  and  was  under  the  influence  of  Friar 
Luis  Sotelo,  was  preparing  to  send  an  embassy  to  New  Spain 
on  his  own  account,  with  a  view  of  counteracting  his  father's 
severity  and  establishing  direct  relations  between  New  Spain  and 
his  own  domain. 

The  first  step  towards  the  execution  of  his  plan  had  been  his 
request  to  Viscaino  to  transfer  to  him  the  emperor's  license  to 
build  a  vessel,  and  it  would  seem  as  though  the  whole  affair  had 
been  kept  a  profound  secret  from  his  father  and  from  General 
Viscaino.  As  soon  as  the  latter  had  departed,  presumably  for 
New  Spain,  the  rigging  and  fitting  up  of  the  vessel,  which  seems 
to  have  been  purposely  delayed,  were  rapidly  completed.  Five 
weeks  after  Viscaino 's  departure.  Friar  Sotelo  sailed  from  Uraga 
for  New  Spain  with  credentials  appointing  him  the  shogun's 
ambassador,  and  with  a  numerous  suite  of  Japanese.  They  had 
barely  reached  the  open  sea,  however,  when  they  were  overtaken 
by  a  storm  which  drove  their  ship  upon  the  rocky  coast  and 
completely  wrecked  it.  The  fact  that  when  building  it  the 
dimensions  planned  by  Viscaino  had  been  altered  and  the  proba- 
bility that  the  Japanese  were  as  yet  unskilled  in  the  navigation 
of  similar  vessels  may  in  part  account  for  the  loss  of  the  vessel. 
The  shogun,  who,  for  unknown  reasons,  cast  the  entire  responsi- 
bility and  blame  for  the  disaster  upon  Friar  Sotelo,  had  him  cast 
into  prison  and  sentenced  to  death.    He  released  and  pardoned 


36  University  of  California  PuhUcations.   [Am.Arch.Eth. 

him,  however,  at  the  instance  of  Masumane,  who  took  Friar  So- 
telo  to  his  court  and  made  him  his  chief  counsellor. 

While  all  this  was  occurring  at  Uraga,  General  Viscaino  was 
cruising  about  in  search  of  the  two  islands,  for  it  had  never  been 
his  intention  to  sail  for  New  Spain  until  he  had  accomplished 
what  he  and  his  father,  the  viceroy,  had  decided  to  be  the  prin- 
cipal aim  of  his  voyage,  namely,  the  discovery  of  the  islands 
described  by  the  Portuguese  mariners.  To  his  chagrin,  he  had 
had  to  give  up  setting  out  with  the  second  ship,  as  he  had  planned 
from  the  beginning,  for  it  had  been  built  of  a  greater  capacity, 
and  although  he  had  seen  it  actually  afloat  at  Uraga,  it  could  not 
be  finished  before  he  left. 

On  the  16th  of  September,  Viscaino,  with  a  reduced  crew, 
and  short  of  many  necessary  provisions,  sailed  from  Uraga.  On 
the  25th,  after  covering  more  than  two  hundred  leagues,  he  found 
himself  in  the  latitude  in  which,  according  to  certain  charts, 
the  islands  were  supposed  to  lie.  Finding  no  sign  of  these,  the 
general  held  a  consultation  with  the  pilots  on  board  as  to  what 
would  be  the  best  method  to  pursue  in  searching  for  them.  All 
agreed  to  sail  southward  to  32  degrees  of  latitude,  and  did  so, 
coming  across  many  signs  of  a  proximity  to  land,  such  as  floating 
pieces  of  pumice  stone,  ducks  and  turtles.  But  they  did  not  find 
the  islands.  The  general,  who  it  is  recorded  would  not  allow 
himself  to  think  of  returning  to  Acapulco  until  he  had  ascer- 
tained whether  the  islands  existed  or  not,  gave  orders  to  retrace 
the  ship's  course.  They  continued  their  search  with  extraordi- 
nary diligence  until  October  12th,  when  some  of  the  sailors  be- 
came disheartened.  The  pilot  then  declared  that,  to  his  belief, 
the  islands  did  not  exist,  and  that  he  had  exceeded  his  obligations 
and  the  viceroy's  orders.  Some  of  the  crew  mutinied,  and,  as 
he  had  no  armed  men  to  back  him,  the  general,  to  avoid  being 
killed,  was  obliged  to  pacify  them  with  good  words.  On  the 
14th  a  violent  storm  overtook  them,  followed  on  the  18th  by  a 
hurricane  which  obliged  them  to  cut  down  the  mainmast.  For 
eleven  days  they  were  in  great  peril,  and  suffered  from  lack  of 
water  and  food,  all  cooking  utensils  having  been  washed  over- 
board. Giving  themselves  up  as  lost,  and  realizing  the  impor- 
tance of  continuing  their  voyage  to  New  Spain,  they  held  a  con- 


Vol,  4]     Nuttall. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  37 

STiltation  and  decided  that  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  return 
to  Japan,  obtain  a  loan  from  the  emperor,  which  their  king 
would  approve  of,  and  make  preparations  to  go  back  to  New 
Spain  in  the  following  year.  With  a  vessel  which  owed  its 
escape  from  foundering  to  the  lining  which  had  been  given  it 
in  Uraga,  they  reached  this  port,  where  further  trials  and  decep- 
tions awaited  them. 

The  first  news  learned  by  Viscaino,  on  reaching  the  harbor  of 
Uraga,  was  the  history  of  the  shogun's  attempt  to  send  an  em- 
bassy and  the  loss  of  his  vessel.  The  following  is  his  character- 
istic comment  on  this  disaster : — 

"We  found  on  reaching  Uraga  that  the  ship  'San  Sebas- 
tian' had  sailed  and  had  run  aground  about  a  league  from 
port,  because  the  Japanese  had  insisted  on  carrying  out  their 
will,  and  had  loaded  it  without  permission  from  the  Spaniards. 
The  Japanese  recognized  their  mistake." 

On  landing,  Viscaino  at  once  sent  messages  to  lyeyasu  and 
the  shogun,  announcing  his  return  and  explaining  his  misfor- 
tunes and  the  absolute  necessity  there  was  for  him  to  obtain 
means  to  fit  himself  out  for  his  return  journey  to  Mexico  in  the 
following  year. 

The  answer  he  received  was  that  both  sovereigns  were  grieved 
at  his  hardships,  and  that  he  was  not  to  be  troubled,  as  they 
would  furnish  him  with  what  was  necessary;  that  the  emperor 
was  about  to  visit  his  son  at  Yedo,  and  that,  while  there,  both 
would  discuss  what  was  to  be  done.  As  soon  as  the  general  heard 
that  the  emperor  had  reached  Yedo,  he  went  thither  to  see  him 
and  solicit  the  loan  he  had  asked  for.  He  spent  five  whole  months 
making  extraordinary  efforts,  by  means  of  presents  and  peti- 
tions, to  attain  his  end.  He  underwent  many  hardships  and  suf- 
fered from  exposure  to  cold — even  waiting  for  hours  by  the  road- 
side and  in  the  places  where  he  expected  the  emperor  to  pass 
when  out  hunting,  but  he  never  succeeded  in  speaking  to  him, 
nor  did  his  .petitions  ever  reach  their  destination,  being  inter- 
cepted by  the  secretaries  and  counsellors. 

All  this  did  not  correspond  with  what  had  been  promised 
him,  and  it  was  but  natural  he  should  abuse  the  Japanese,  and 
accuse  them  of  bad  faith,  etc.  Later  on  he  learned  the  cause  of 
the  treatment  he  had  received  and  exonerated  the  emperor's 


38  University  of  California  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth. 

counsellors  from  blame.  It  seems  that  a  friar,  whose  name  and 
whose  order  Viseaino  withholds,  had  sent  a  communication  to 
the  emperor,  stating  that  he  had  heard  that  the  general  was 
soliciting  a  loan  of  six  thousand  dollars,  to  be  repaid  in  New 
Spain.  He  warned  the  emperor  and  his  counsellors  to  be  care- 
ful, because  Viseaino  carried  no  authorization  from  the  viceroy 
or  from  the  King  of  Spain  to  make  a  loan  there,  that  he  had 
no  means  of  repaying  it,  and  that  none  of  the  friars  would  be 
responsible  for  the  debt.  Naturally  the  emperor  withheld  the 
loan,  but  kept  Viseaino  waiting  in  uncertainty  for  five  months. 
Meanwhile  the  latter  received  an  offer  from  certain  Spaniards 
to  loan  him  the  sum  he  needed,  the  capital  and  interest  to  be 
payable  in  New  Spain.  This  offer  was  joyfully  accepted,  and 
Viseaino  drew  up  a  mortgage  of  his  and  the  king's  property  to 
give  as  security.  But  the  friars  warned  the  Spaniards  also, 
stating  that  they  had  their  grave  doubts  as  to  whether  the  loan 
would  ever  be  repaid,  and  other  things  which,  Viseaino  says, 
could  not  bear  repetition.  In  his  dire  necessity  he  called  to- 
gether his  men,  who  were  suffering  from  hunger,  explained  the 
situation  and  told  them  that  nothing  remained  but  for  him  to 
try  to  sell  in  Yedo  at  auction  aU  he  possessed — not  only  his  negro 
slave  and  the  mattresses  from  his  own  bed,  but  also  the  merchan- 
dise he  had  bought  on  commission  for  several  noblemen  of  Mex- 
ico. He  appealed  to  them  to  follow  his  example,  and  to  sell  all 
their  personal  belongings,  so  that  they  would  be  able  to  pay  what 
they  owed,  repair  their  vessel  and  sail  for  New  Spain.  He 
thought  that  even  if  they  had  to  live  on  rice  and  water  alone 
during  the  whole  voyage,  it  would  be  better  than  "to  remain  in 
the  heathenish  country  they  were  in. ' '  When  on  the  next  day  he 
endeavored  to  collect  the  clothing,  etc.,  in  order  to  take  all  to 
Yedo  for  sale,  the  majority  of  his  men  excused  themselves,  some 
hid  their  belongings  and  others  sold  them  secretly  and  deserted. 
Being  powerless,  as  he  says,  to  "exercise  the  power  of  royal 
justice,"  Viseaino  confesses  that  he  thought  it  best  "to  be  silent 
and  dissimulate."  So  he  collected  all  he  possessed  and  went  to 
Yedo  to  dispose  of  it,  with  the  intention  of  paying  his  debts,  and 
then  meeting  the  expenses  of  his  return  voyage  by  taking  freight 
and  Spanish  and  Japanese  passengers  on  his  vessel. 


Vol.  4]     Nuttall. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  39 

The  Spaniards  agreed  to  this  and  some  Japanese  were  in- 
clined to  do  so,  when  another  friar  of  the  same  order  crossed 
Viscaino's  plans — ^not  only  hindering  the  sale  of  his  effects  and 
the  realization  of  his  project,  but  also  preventing  Japanese  mer- 
chants from  even  visiting  the  general 's  lodgings. 

After  making  certain  accusations  against  the  friar,  who 
seems  to  have  been  no  other  than  Luis  Sotelo,  Viscaino  describes 
how  he  became  so  discouraged  that  he  actually  fell  ill.  He  was 
rapidly  growing  worse  when  a  new  vista  suddenly  opened  out 
before  him.  Agents  sent  by  Lord  Masumane  arrived,  and  of- 
fered to  employ  him  and  his  men  to  build  a  vessel  and  to  navi- 
gate it,  when  ready,  to  New  Spain.  Viscaino,  who  had  had  to  re- 
linquish all  hope  of  ever  being  able  to  return  in  his  own  ship, 
which  had  become  unseaworthy,  only  too  gladly  drew  up  a  con- 
tract, the  terms  of  which  were,  as  he  states,  most  favorable  to  his 
Majesty,  the  King  of  Spain.  Masumane's  agents  undertook  not 
only  to  give  the  remainder  of  the  Spanish  crew,  consisting  of 
twenty-six  pilots,  carpenters  and  other  workmen,  the  same  salary 
they  had  been  receiving  from  the  crown,  but  also  to  advance 
them  good  wages  and  free  transportation  for  themselves  and 
their  belongings  to  the  prince's  domain. 

General  Viscaino,  the  royal  constable,  the  surgeon  and  three 
or  four  other  officers  were  to  remain  in  the  pay  of  the  Spanish 
crown,  but  were  to  have  free  board  and  lodgings  from  the  time 
they  embarked  until  they  reached  Acapulco.  Over  and  above 
these  terms  of  agreement,  which  were  faithfully  kept  by  the 
Japanese,  Viscaino  imposed  upon  the  agents  two  conditions 
which  Masumane  did  not  subsequently  recognize.  The  first  of 
these  was  that  all  employees,  whether  Japanese  or  Spaniards, 
were  to  be  exclusively  under  the  general's  orders.  The  second 
was  that,  if,  previous  to  sailing,  no  permission  was  received 
from  the  viceroy  of  Mexico  for  Japanese  to  go  to  New  Spain, 
only  a  few  Japanese  were  to  be  allowed  to  fill  menial  positions 
on  board,  and  only  in  case  they  were  needed.  This  clause,  sim- 
ilar to  that  introduced  by  Viscaino  in  his  previous  contract, 
absolutely  confirms  the  statement  of  the  Japanese  merchants 
who  returned  from  New  Spain  and  reported  that  they  had  been 
asked  not  to  return,  and  shows  that  the  vice-regal  government 


40  University  of  California  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth. 

of  Mexico  had  received  orders  from  Spain  to  follow  a  policy  of 
exclusion  in  order  to  protect  Spanish- Asiatic  trade. 

It  was  not  until  the  26th  of  October,  1613,  that  the  vessel 
was  ready  for  the  voyage.  Viscaino  complains  of  having  had 
great  trouble  with  the  Japanese,  and  of  suffering  much  from  the 
constant  interference  of  ''a  friar  who  had  persuaded  the  Japa- 
nese to  help  him  to  further  a  plan  he  had  in  mind. ' '  At  the  last 
moment,  Viscaino  relates,  "the  friar  took  entire  command  of 
everything,  embarked  as  many  Japanese  as  he  wanted,  and  con- 
stituted himself  Governor  and  Captain  General  of  the  vessel." 
The  friar  was  no  less  a  personage  than  Friar  Luis  Sotelo,  whose 
previous  expedition  as  the  shogun's  ambassador  had  ended  so 
disastrously.  This  time  he  and  a  Japanese  nobleman,  named 
Hasekura  Rokuyemon,  set  out  as  co-ambassadors  for  Masumane, 
the  Lord  of  Oxo,  with  a  suite  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  Japa- 
nese, including  sixty  Samurai  and  several  merchants.  They  were 
provided  with  letters  not  only  to  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  but  also 
to  the  King  of  Spain  and  to  Pope  Paul  V. 

Viscaino  pathetically  records  that  he  protested  in  vain,  and 
finally,  in  order  to  avert  a  great  disaster,  was  forced  ''to  dis- 
simulate and  to  embark  as  a  mere  passenger"  upon  the  ship  he 
and  his  men  had  built.  He  adds  that  the  humor  of  the  Japanese 
was  such  that  they  actually  would  have  killed  him  had  he  at- 
tempted to  do  otherwise. 

It  would  seem  as  though  Viscaino  left  the  vessel  at  the  first 
Mexican  port  which  was  touched,  for  it  is  from  Zacatula,  north 
of  Acapulco,  that  Viscaino  dispatched,  on  January  22,  1614,  his 
report  to  his  father,  Don  Luis  de  Velasco,  then  living  in  Spain, 
and  whom  he  probably  soon  joined.  He  seems  to  have  ended 
his  days  in  obscurity,  for  the  date  of  his  death  was  unknown  to 
his  Mexican  biographer,  Beristian. 

The  somewhat  lengthy  superscription  of  Viscaino 's  report 
conclusively  reveals  the  true  aim  of  his  embassy,  which  he  took 
such  pains  to  conceal  from  the  Japanese,  but  of  which  they  were 
informed  by  WiUiam  Adams  and  his  Dutch  friends.    It  reads  as 

follows : — 

"Account  of  the  voyage  made  for  the  discovery  of  the 
Islands  named  'The  Eich  in  Gold  and  Silver,'  situated  in 
Japan,  Don  Luis  de  Velasco  being  Viceroy  of  New  Spain,  and 
his  son,  Sebastian  Viscaino,  the  General  of  the  Expedition." 


Vol.  4]     Nuttall. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  41 

Here  ends  the  history  of  the  first  and  last  Spanish  vice-regal 
ambassador  to  Japan. 

Friar  Sotelo's  arrival  in  Mexico  as  the  ambassador  of  the 
Protector  of  Christianity  in  Japan,  and  with  a  flock  of  would-be 
converts,  was  regarded  as  a  triumph  of  the  church  and  particu- 
larly of  the  deservedly  much  loved  Franciscan  order.  At  Aca- 
pulco,  the  town  officials  determined  to  honor  the  members  of  an 
embassy  to  the  viceroy,  the  king  and  the  pope  with  extraordi- 
nary honors,  and  greeted  it  with  salutes  of  artillery.  Its  mem- 
bers were  escorted  with  music  to  luxuriously  appointed  lodg- 
ings, and  the  festivities  were  crowned  by  a  gala  bull-fight.  The 
viceroy  sent  orders  that  provisions  for  the  journey  to  the  capital 
were  to  be  provided,  and  a  large  mounted  and  armed  escort  was 
to  accompany  the  embassy  on  its  long  and  somewhat  perilous 
journey.  In  all  villages,  towns  and  cities  along  their  route  the 
travelers  were  received  with  military  music  and  triumphal 
arches.  Carpets  strewn  with  pieces  of  gold  were  spread  on  their 
pathway,  and  they  were  lodged  and  lavishly  entertained  at  the 
royal  houses.  In  the  capital,  where  they  were  anxiously  expected, 
they  were  lodged  in  a  palace  near  the  Convent  of  San  Francisco, 
where  they  were  at  once  visited  by  the  archbishop,  the  judges 
and  officers  of  the  inquisition  and  the  high  nobility  and  gentle- 
men of  Mexico. 

Having  opportunely  arrived  in  Holy  Week,  the  Japanese 
were  able  to  witness  the  solemn  processions  and  impressive  re- 
ligious ceremonies  held  in  the  cathedral  and  churches  of  Mexico, 
the  interiors  of  which  were  beautifully  decorated  with  flowers. 
They  were  so  impressed  with  what  they  saw  that  seventy-eight 
members  of  the  Japanese  ambassador's  suite  expressed  their 
desire  to  be  baptized.  This  sacrament  was  performed  in  the 
Church  of  San  Francisco  with  great  solemnity  and  the  sanction 
of  the  archbishop's  presence,  members  of  the  highest  nobility 
acting  as  sponsors.  Subsequently  the  Japanese  ambassador  ex- 
pressed his  desire  to  be  baptized,  but  after  consultation  the  arch- 
bishop and  the  commissary-general  of  the  Franciscan  order  ad- 
vised him  to  defer  this  ceremony  until  his  arrival  at  the  Spanish 
court. 

It  is  recorded  that  on  the  day  the  Japanese  ambassador  went 


42  University  of  California  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth. 

to  "kiss  the  hand"  of  the  viceroy,  he  distributed  new  liveries 
to  his  servants  and  went  in  state  to  the  palace,  with  a  mounted 
escort. 

The  viceroy,  Don  Diego  Fernandez  de  Cordova,  Marquis  of 
Guadalcazar,  who  received  him  with  great  delight  and  courtesy, 
expressed  his  satisfaction  at  the  embassy 's  having  been  sent  from 
Japan.  He  consented  to  give  the  Japanese  passports  allowing 
them  to  go  to  Spain,  but  informed  them  that  it  would  be  neces- 
sary for  them  to  obtain  from  the  King  of  Spain  permission  to 
return  to  Mexico;  a  detail  which  again  reveals  the  existence  of 
an  established  policy  of  exclusion. 

On  account  of  the  difficulties  of  transporting  so  many  persons, 
it  was  decided  that  the  majority  of  the  ambassador's  suite  was 
to  remain  in  Mexico.  The  baptized  converts  were  sent  back  to 
Acapulco,  and  the  few  merchants  who  had  accompanied  the 
embassy  remained  in  the  country,  doubtless  studying  its  pro- 
ducts and  manufactories.  The  mercantile  relations  with  Mexico, 
which  are  said  in  the  "Japanese  History  of  Commerce"  to  have 
been  kept  up  until  1636,  when  they  entirely  ceased,  were  prob- 
ably established  by  these  merchants  and  limited  to  Masumane's 
domain. 

Friar  Sotelo,  Masumane's  ambassador,  his  relatives  and  the 
sixty  Samurai  departed  for  Vera  Cruz,  visiting  Puebla,  where 
bull-fights  and  tournaments  were  held  in  their  honor,  and  where 
they  were  lodged  in  the  Franciscan  monastery. 

On  the  10th  of  June,  after  spending  four  and  a  half  months 
in  Mexico,  the  embassy  embarked  in  one  of  the  best  Spanish 
vessels  and,  escorted  by  the  fleet  commanded  by  General  Anto- 
nio de  Oquendo,  reached  Havana  a  fortnight  later,  and  finally 
landed  in  Spain  on  the  5th  of  October,  1614. 

The  embassy  was  received  with  honors  in  Madrid,  where  the 
baptism  of  the  ambassador  was  celebrated.  He  was  given  the 
name  of  the  king,  who  probably  acted  as  his  sponsor,  and  that  of 
Francis,  the  founder  of  Friar  Sotelo 's  order. 

Friar  Cavo  states  that  "this  embassy  did  not  succeed  in 
establishing  commercial  relations  between  Spain  and  Japan  on 
account  of  the  persecution  of  Christians  going  on  in  the  latter 
country."     It  is  obvious,  however,  that  no  diplomatic  negotia- 


Vol.  4]     Nuttall. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  43 

tions  could  possibly  have  been  entered  into  by  the  King  of  Spain 
with  ambassadors  who  were  sent  by  one  of  the  feudal  lords  and 
not  by  the  emperor  of  the  country  whence  they  came. 

After  a  very  short  stay  in  Madrid,  during  which,  however,  the 
King  of  Spain  appointed  Friar  Sotelo  his  court  preacher,  the  em- 
bassy went  to  Rome,  where  the  friars  and  Hasekura  Phillip 
Francis  were  received  in  audience  by  the  Pope  on  the  3rd  of  No- 
vember, 1615.  It  is  recorded  that  after  being  presented  to  his 
Holiness  they  read  him,  probably  with  a  view  of  obtaining  his 
support,  Latin  translations  of  Masumane's  letters,  in  which  the 
prince  cordially  invited  Franciscan  friars  to  his  domain,  prom- 
ised to  protect  all  converts  to  the  Catholic  faith,  expressed  his 
desire  to  hold  friendship  with  his  Catholic  Majesty,  the  King  of 
Spain,  and  to  enter  into  direct  commercial  relations  with  Mexico. 

The  Franciscan  friar,  Gregorio  Petrocha,  then  made  an  ad- 
dress, and  a  Monsignor  answered  for  the  Pope,  expressing  his 
joy  at  the  embassy,  his  benevolent  acceptance  of  the  homage  and 
reverence  paid  to  the  Apostolic  See  by  the  "King,"  Masumane, 
who,  he  hoped,  would  soon  follow  his  pious  inclination  and  be 
baptized.  The  embassy  was  dismissed  with  presents  and  a  letter 
for  Masumane. 

Beristian  states  that  a  painting  from  life  of  Friar  Sotelo  and 
Hasekura  is  preserved  in  the  Quirinal  Palace,  in  the  ante-cham- 
ber of  the  chapel. 

Senor  Lera's  publication  contains  the  only  statement  I  have 
been  able  to  find  concerning  the  date  of  the  return  of  Masumane 's 
embassy  to  Japan.  He  says  that  after  an  absence  of  six  years  it 
reached  Nagasaki  in  1620.  This  prolonged  absence  seems  to  indi- 
cate that  it  would  have  been  dangerous  for  them  to  have  returned 
sooner  on  account  of  the  emperor 's  persecution  of  the  Christians, 
and  the  proscription  of  their  religion.  It  is  not  impossible  that 
some  of  these  converted  Japanese  remained  permanently  in 
Mexico. 

Three  years  after  the  return  of  the  embassy  lyeyasu  died 
under  tragic  circumstances,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  grandson, 
lyemitsu,  who,  in  1624,  issued  an  edict  ordering  away  all  for- 
eigners and  interdicting  Christianity. 

In  the  following  year  Friar  Sotelo,  with  several  companions, 


44  University  of  Calif orwia  Publications.   [Am.Arch.Eth. 

was  burned  alive  at  Bomura,  thus  realizing,  as  is  quaintly  said, 
"the  desire  with  which  he  had  come  to  Japan,  to  win  a  martyr's 
crown. ' ' 

In  1636  all  commercial  relations  with  New  Spain  ceased,  and 
in  1638  the  Portuguese  were  expelled  from  Japan,  and  all  ports 
were  closed  to  foreign  traffic.  The  Dutch  alone  were  tolerated  as 
traders  and  settlers,  but  the  latter  were  virtually  imprisoned  on 
the  peninsula  of  Dashima,  where  they  had  a  factory. 

lyemitsu  completed  the  system  inaugurated  by  his  predeces- 
sor, and  put  an  end  to  Japanese  trade  and  intercourse  with  for- 
eign countries  by  issuing  an  edict  forbidding  his  subjects  to  leave 
their  country,  under  pain  of  capital  punishment.  He  also  or- 
dered the  destruction  of  all  vessels  of  European  pattern  belong- 
ing to  Japan.  From  that  time  to  1854,  when  Commander  Perry 
made  a  treaty  with  the  shogunate  at  Uraga,  Japan  ' '  maintained 
a  most  rigid  policy  of  isolation. ' ' 

The  foregoing  history  of  the  events  which  followed  lyeyasu  's 
attempt  to  establish  commercial  relations  with  New  Spain,  based 
on  original  documents  only  and  here  presented  for  the  first  time, 
explains  some  of  the  reasons  why,  later  on,  the  same  emperor 
decided  that  intercourse  with  European  nations  positively  endan- 
gered the  integrity  and  future  of  Japan. 

All  had  been  simple  at  first  when  the  Portuguese,  regularly 
meeting  Japanese  merchants  at  the  Island  of  Hirado,  traded  by 
barter  and  exported  from  Japan  on  an  average  of  over  three 
million  dollars  a  year  in  gold.  The  three  Portuguese  Jesuit  mis- 
sionaries, St.  Francis  Xavier,  Torres,  and  Fernandez,  who  landed 
in  the  Province  of  Satsuma  in  1549,  met  with  unexpected  success 
in  introducing  the  Catholic  religion.  The  arrival  of  certain 
Spanish  Franciscan  friars,  sent  on  a  mission  to  Miaco  by  the 
governor  of  Manila,  divided  the  Christian  foreigners  and  con- 
verts in  Japan  into  two  rival  parties,  one  consisting  of  the  Por- 
tuguese Jesuits  backed  by  the  merchants  of  their  own  country, 
the  other  of  the  Spanish  Franciscans  supported  by  the  Manila 
merchants,  who  bitterly  resented  the  Portuguese  monopoly  of 
Japanese  trade.  The  arrival  of  the  Spanish  Dominicans  caused 
still  further  complications;  the  dissensions  among  the  members 
and  followers  of  the  three  orders  giving  direct  provocation  to  the 


Vol.  4]     NuUall. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  45 

persecution  of  Christians  by  the  Japanese  government.  In  order 
to  establish  peace,  Pope  Gregory  XIII  in  1585  issued  a  Bull  for- 
bidding all  religious  orders  but  that  of  the  Jesuits  to  exercise 
priestly  offices  in  Japan. 

Vivero,  the  first  Spanish  official  who  landed  in  Japan,  made 
efforts  to  poison  the  emperor's  mind  against  the  Portuguese, 
with  a  view  of  securing  the  monopoly  of  gold  exportation  for  the 
Spaniards.  Vivero  and  the  viceroy  of  Mexico  also  ignored  lye- 
yasu's  request  for  the  expert  Mexican  miners,  whom  he  had 
wished  to  employ  to  teach  the  Japanese  the  best  methods  of  work- 
ing their  own  gold  mines. 

Viscaino,  the  first  Spanish  ambassador,  maligned  the  Dutch, 
with  whom  a  commercial  treaty  had  just  been  made,  and  went 
so  far  as  to  threaten  that  if  the  Japanese  intended  to  tolerate  the 
Dutch,  the  Spanish  king  would  not  allow  his  subjects  to  have 
dealings  with  Japan.  On  the  other  hand,  the  protestant  Dutch 
republicans,  and  their  influential  English  friend,  William  Adams, 
denounced  the  religion  of  the  Portuguese  and  Spaniards,  and  de- 
scribed the  latter 's  thirst  for  gold  and  success  in  conquering 
many  remote  countries  which  yielded  the  precious  metal. 

The  revelation  that  Viscaino 's  secret  mission  was  precisely 
to  discover  an  unknown  source  of  gold,  presumably  belonging  to 
his  dominion,  was  received  by  lyeyasu  simultaneously  with  the 
reproach  of  having  unsuspectingly  granted  permission  to  sur- 
vey the  Japanese  coast,  which  would  unquestionably  facilitate 
any  future  invasion  of  Japan,  whether  actually  intended  or  not 
by  the  Spaniards.  It  seems  possible  that  the  existence  of  Vis- 
caino's  charts  may  have  suggested  to  the  emperor  and  his  coun- 
sellors the  idea  of  closing  all  Japanese  ports  to  foreign  nations. 

The  discoveries  that  certain  converts  made  by  Japanese  mis- 
sionaries had  pledged  their  allegiance  to  a  foreign  power;  that 
in  the  emperor's  own  household  Christians  had  been  guilty  of 
treachery  and  duplicity,  and  the  memory  that  missionaries,  in 
open  defiance  of  the  emperor's  orders,  not  only  had  preached  in 
the  streets  of  Miaco,  but  had  even  erected  a  church,  explain,  more- 
over, why  the  ruling  class  in  Japan  took  alarm,  and  concluded 
that  the  Christian  religion  *' struck  at  the  root  of  the  political 
and  religious  systems  of  Japan,"  and  that  ** Christians  formed 


46  University  of  California  Publications.   [Am.Abch,Eth. 

a  dangerous  and  anti-national  class,  whose  extirpation  was  essen- 
tial to  the  political  system  initiated  by  lyeyasu  and  perfected  by 
lyemitsu. ' ' 

While  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  the  foregoing  data  concerning 
the  earliest  relations  between  Japan  and  Mexico  were  interesting 
from  a  historical  point  of  view,  I  have  also  realized  that  they 
could  but  be  of  particular  value  to  ethnologists  and  those  who 
are  especially  interested  in  evidences  of  Asiatic  influences  in 
Mexico  and  Central  America.  To  them  I  venture  to  recommend 
the  consideration  of  the  following  facts : — 

More  or  less  frequent  indirect  intercourse  between  Japan  and 
Mexico  undoubtedly  took  place  as  soon  as  communication  was 
established  between  the  Philippine  Islands  and  Acapulco. 

In  1608  there  were  fifteen  thousand  Japanese  residing  in  the 
Philippines,  some  of  whom  were  probably  employed  in  the  crews 
of  the  galleons,  eight  of  which  came  to  Acapulco  each  year.  In 
1610,  with  the  ex-governor  of  the  Philippines,  Vivero,  twenty- 
three  Japanese  noblemen  and  merchants  spent  five  months  in 
Mexico  and  its  capital. 

In  1613,  one  hundred  and  eighty  Japanese  spent  four  and  a 
half  months  in  Mexico.  The  majority  remained  when  the  em- 
bassy departed  for  Europe,  seventy-eight  returning  to  Acapulco. 
The  presumption  is  that  they  remained  there  awaiting  the  return 
of  the  ambassadors,  which  was  delayed  for  six  years. 

lyemitsu 's  prohibition  to  Japanese  to  leave  their  country, 
under  penalty  of  death,  indicates  that  a  large  number  of  perse- 
cuted Christians  had  been  going  into  voluntary  exile.  In  aU 
probability  some  of  these,  and  also  members  of  the  Japanese 
colony  in  the  Philippines,  came  to  Mexico  and  settled  there. 
What  is  more,  for  over  two  hundred  years  Mexico  was  the  high- 
road over  which  passed  the  merchandise  brought  from  Spain's 
Asiatic  possessions,  and  landed  at  Acapulco  by  vessels  whose 
crews  frequently  were  partly  Asiatic. 

It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  it  is  the  first  duty  of  ethnologists 
to  assign  to  the  above  influx  of  Japanese  into  Mexico  in  historical 
times  any  indications  of  Asiatic  influence  that  they  may  detect, 
and  for  anthropologists  to  consider  the  more  or  less  limited  min- 
gling of  races  which  doubtless  occurred  in  the  17th  century  and 
afterwards. 


Vol.  4]     Nuttall. — Earliest  Relations,  Mexico  and  Japan.  47 

I  will  set  an  example  by  attributing  to  the  Japanese  who 
visited  Mexico  in  the  17th  century  the  introduction  of  the  rain- 
coat made  of  grass  or  palm  leaves,  which  is  worn  by  the  Indians 
inhabiting  the  Pacific  coast  of  Mexico,  and  which  is  said  to  be 
identical  with  that  used  in  Japan  from  time  immemorial. 

In  this  connection  it  suffices  to  point  out  the  significant  fact 
that  the  members  of  Masumane's  suite  returned  to  Acapulco 
from  the  City  of  Mexico  in  June,  precisely  at  the  beginning  of 
the  rainy  season.  It  being  absolutely  necessary  for  them  to  have 
some  protection  from  the  torrential  showers  they  were  exposed 
to  during  their  long  journey,  it  seems  more  than  probable  that 
they  deftly  manufactured  from  native  grasses  or  palm  leaves 
such  rain-coats  as  they  had  been  accustomed  to  make  and  wear 
in  their  native  land. 

The  practical  lesson  thus  taught  the  observant  natives  and 
the  models  furnished  by  the  rain-coats  discarded  at  the  end  of 
the  wet  season  would  surely  sufficiently  account  for  the  introduc- 
tion and  use  to  the  present  day  of  these  useful  and  easily  manu- 
factured garments,  of  which  a  specimen,  bought  in  the  market- 
place at  Oaxaca,  has  been  sent  by  the  writer  to  the  Museum  of  the 
Department  of  Anthropology  of  the  University  of  California. 


UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA    PUBLICATIONS-(CONTINUED) 

QRAECO-ROMAN    ARCHAEOLOGY. 

Vol.  1.  The  Tebtunis  Papyri,  Part  1.  Edited  by  Bernard  P.  Grenfell,  Arthur 
S.  Hunt,  and  J.  Gilbart  Smyly.  Pages  690,  Plates  9,  1903 
Price,  $16.00 

Vol.  2.    The  Tebtunis  Papyri,  Part  2  (in  preparation). 

Vol.  3.    The  Tebtunis  Papyri,  Part  3  (in  preparation). 

EGYPTIAN   ARCHAEOLOGY. 

Vol.  1.  The  Hearst  Medical  Papyrus.  Edited  by  G.  A.  Reisner.  Hieratic 
text  in  17  facsimile  plates  in  collotype,  with  introduction  and 
vocabulary.    Quarto,  pages  48.    Now  ready. 

Vol.  2.  The  Predynastic  Cemetery  at  Naga-ed-Der.  The  Archaeological 
Material,  by  A.  M.  Lythgoe  (in  preparation). 

Vol.  3.  The  Predynastic  Cemetery  at  Naga-ed-Der.  The  Anatomical  Material, 
by  Elliott  Smith  (in  preparation). 

Vol.  4.    The  Early  Dynastic  Cemeteries  at  Naga-ed-Der.    By  G.  A.  Reisner 

(in  press). 

Vol.  5.  The  Cemetery  of  the  Second  and  Third  Dynasties  at  Naga-ed-Der, 
by  A.  C.  Mace  (in  preparation). 

Vol.  6.  The  Cemetery  of  the  Third  and  Fourth  Dynasties  at  Naga-ed-Der, 
by  G.  A.  Reisner  (in  preparation). 

Vol.  7.  The  Coptic  Cemeteries  of  Naga-ed-Der,  by  A.  C.  Mace  (in  prep- 
aration). 


ANTHROPOLOGICAL  MEMOIRS. 

Vol.  I.    Explorations  in  Peru,  by  Max  Uhle  (in  preparation). 
No.  1.    The  Ruins  of  Moche. 
No.  2.     Huamachuco,  Chincha,  lea. 
No.  3.    The  Inca  Buildings  of  the  Valley  of  Pisco. 

SPECIAL  VOLUMES. 

The  Book  of  the  Life  of  the  Ancient  Mexicans,  containing  an  account  of  their 
rites  and  superstitions;  an  anonymous  Hispano-American  manuscript 
preserved  in  the  Biblioteca  Nazionale  Centrale,  Florence,  Italy.  Repro- 
duced in  fac-simile,  with  introduction,  translation,  and  commentary, 
by  Zelia  Nuttall. 

Part  I.     Preface,    Introduction,    and    80   Fac-simile   plates   in 

colors.     1903. 
Part  II.  Translation  and  Commentary.     (In  press). 

Price  for  the  two  parts $25.00 

The  Department  of  Anthropology,  Its  History  and  Plan,  1905. 


UNIVERSITY   OF  CALIFORNIA   PUBLICATIONS-(Continued; 

ASTRONOMY.-W.  W.  Campbell,  Editor. 

Publications  of  the  Lick  Observatory.— Volumes  I-V  completed.    Volume 
VI  (in  progress). 

BOTANY.— W.  A.  Setchell,  Editor.  Price  per  volume  $3.50.  Volume  I  (pp.  418) 
completed.    Volume  II  (in  progress). 

EDUCATION.— Elmer  E.  Brown,  Editor.     Price  per  volume  $2.50. 

GEOLOGY.— Bulletin  of  the  Department  of  Geology.  Andrew  C.  Lawson,  Editor. 
Price  per  volume  $3.50.  Volumes  I  (pp.  428),  II  (pp.  450)  and 
III  (475),  completed.    Volume  IV  (in  progress). 

PATHOLOGY.- Alonzo  Englebert  Taylor,  Editor.  Price  per  volume  $2.00 
Volume  I  (in  progress). 

CLASSICAL  PHILOLOGY.— Edward  B.  Clapp,  William  A.  Merrill,  Herbert  C. 
Nutting,  Editors.  Price  per  volume  $2.00.  Volume  I  (in 
progress). 

PHILOSOPHY.— Volume  I,  completed.    Price,  $2.00 

PHYSIOLOGY.— Jacques  Loeb,  Editor.  Price  per  volume  $2.00.  Volume  I 
(pp.  217)  completed.  Volume  II  (pp.  215)  completed. 
Volume  III  (in  progress). 

ZOOLOGY.— W.  E.  Ritter,  Editor.  Price  per  volume  $3.50.  Volume  I 
completed.    Volume  II  completed.    Volume  III  (in  progress). 

UNIVERSITY  CHRONICLE.— An  official  record  of  University  life,  issued  quarterly, 
edited  by  a  committee  of  the  faculty.  Price,  $1.00  per  year.  Current 
volume  No.  VIII. 


Address  all  orders,  or  requests  for  information  concerning  the  above  publications 
(except  Astronomy)  to  The  University  Press,  Berkeley,  California. 


